John 15:7–8
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Faith was never meant to be about mechanics, noise, emotions, or literature.
It was never designed to be sustained by systems, performances, or religious activity.
The precepts, commandments, and principles of God were never the destination.
They were designed to lead us into a relational posture.
Everything we do for God, for people, and for life must flow from identity, not performance.
From being, not striving.
Before Instruction Came Relationship
When God breathed into Adam and Adam became self-conscious, he had no Bible, no rules, no job, no rituals, no choir, and no stories staring back at him. There was nothing to perform and nothing to impress.
I imagine Adam was looking directly into the face and Spirit of YHWH.
That was identity before instruction.
Relationship before responsibility.
A Story: When Goodness Isn’t Enough
There was a well-known humanitarian who devoted his life to helping others. He built schools, funded hospitals, fed thousands, and fought tirelessly for justice. By every human standard, he lived a good life.
Late in his life, someone asked him,
“Do you feel fulfilled?”
After a long pause, he answered,
“I’ve done a lot of good, but I don’t know who I am when I stop.”
His life was full of impact, but empty of abiding.
Doing good had become his identity.
Service replaced intimacy.
Purpose replaced presence.
Good works, when disconnected from relationship, eventually become identity substitutes.
The Divine Order
The Father is the Source.
“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:6
Jesus is the Connection and the Mediator.
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 2:5
We are the branches.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.”
John 15:5
Jesus made it unmistakably clear:
“Without Me you can do nothing.”
Life has no meaning, direction, or substance apart from Jesus Christ.
Fruit Comes From Abiding
Good deeds do not validate relationship.
Relationship produces fruit.
Anything done apart from abiding eventually becomes exhausting, image-driven, and hollow.
When you serve, give, forgive, lead, or build, it must flow from union, not obligation.
From identity, not guilt.
From being, not approval.
Jesus did not say, “Produce fruit.”
He said, “Abide in Me.”
Fruit is the evidence, not the effort.
The Highest Quality of Life
The highest quality of life is not being good.
It is being connected.
Not doing more.
But abiding deeper.
Because when identity is rooted in Christ, love flows naturally, obedience becomes willing, and fruit becomes inevitable.