Reflection on John 14 & 15
By Virginia Grace Beasley (6th Grade)
Jesus is getting His people ready for what is about to happen. Jesus is about to die on a cross to save us. On the third day He is dead and comes back to life. Then after all that He goes back to heaven. That’s a lot, and no earthly human could ever do that by themselves.
Have you ever had a relative die, and after they die you think, ‘I could have spent so much more time with them than I did?’ Well, this is what I imagine the disciples thinking after Jesus died.
Before Jesus died, His disciples were talking with Him. Jesus was calm and patient with them and answered every question honestly. He reminds them that in heaven He has room for His children. If He didn’t, why would He come to save them? In John 14:18-19, Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”.
Philip tells Jesus that if He showed them the Father (God) that would be enough, but Jesus responds by saying, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14: 10) If you have seen what Jesus has done for you in your life and believe that He is true and it is true, the Father will love you, Jesus will love you, and you will live in His kingdom.
In chapter 15 Jesus starts with a parable about Him being the true vine and the Father being the gardener. In John 15:5 He tells His children, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” God gives every single one of us a purpose in this world. Mine might be what I’m doing right now; telling you what John 14 and 15 means to me. Yours might be to go on a mission trip and help those in need. We should not hide from the purpose given to us. If we do, we are like a branch that falls and is burned in a fire.
Jesus wants you because He loves you. He wants you to love Him as you would a family member. Jesus commands us to love everyone. If you don’t love everyone then you’re not loving God fully because He loves them as well. Even if they are the most annoying person in the entire world, and trust me I know what it feels like, you don’t have to be mean in return. Maybe you’ll find that they’re a great person instead of annoying as you thought.
“If the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.” (John 15:18-19. )
Remember that you are not the world’s; you are God’s.
Now, let me ask you something: Do you believe that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him?