Day 39

39 - Sticking Points For The Worker 

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” John 15:1-2

How busy are you? Recent studies indicate that the United States is the most overworked country in the world. 86% of men and 67% of women in the United States work more than 40 hours a week. Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers. Productivity per American worker has increased 400% since 1950. The US remains the only industrialized country in the world that has no legally mandated annual leave. Some countries, like France and Finland, mandate a full 30 days of leave annually.

Whether you live in the United States or not, our lives are consumed with work, school, study, maintaining our homes, cars and finances, commuting, family obligations and more. How do we make time for God in our busy lives? How do we prioritize disciple-making?

In the busyness of our everyday lives, is it even possible to move past Chair 2 and live a Chair 3 or Chair 4 lifestyle?

I mentioned yesterday that we have two citrus trees in our backyard, a grapefruit tree and a lime tree. The grapefruit tree is diseased and dying because it’s covered with fungus. The lime tree, however, is thriving. Its leaves are bright green. Its branches are full. It has literally grown so big; it is as tall as our two-story house! There’s just one problem. Our lime tree has no... limes! How could this be? It looks so good, so healthy, so full. It’s growing thick and tall. How is it possible that a tree that looks this healthy and beautiful has no fruit?

It’s simple really. All of our lime tree’s energy, all of its nutrients from the soil and sunlight, have gone into producing more branches and leaves. It has nothing left to actually produce fruit. If I want my lime tree to actually produce limes, I have to intentionally prune it, cutting away excess branches so it can focus its energy on what matters most for a lime tree. Limes!

What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more?” Do you think by pruning that Jesus meant we need to cut back on the activity in our lives that is outside the church so we can be involved in more activity inside the church?

Maybe you have heard of Steven Covey’s Big Rocks analogy. In the analogy, you take a jar, and you first place big rocks in the jar until it is full. Then, you take pebbles and fill the rest of the jar until it is full. After the pebbles, you take sand, dumping it over the big rocks and the pebbles, until the jar is full. Finally, you take a pitcher of water and pour it over the big rocks, pebbles and sand until the jar is completely full. Now, what’s the point of the analogy? Many will initially say, “You can always fit more in than you first thought!” But alas, that is not the point at all. The point is, you could never have fit the big rocks into the jar unless you put them in first. The key in life is to figure out, “What are my big rocks?” your “big rocks” right now?

What do you think Jesus says your “big rocks” should be?

Read Matthew 22:37-40.

• What are the two “big rocks” Jesus identifies here? 

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Read Matthew 28:18-20.

• What is the third “big rock” that Jesus identifies here” 

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Like my lime tree, have you allowed your life to become too full? What would it look like for you to prioritize Loving God, Loving People and Making Disciples in your life right now?

What other priorities might you have to allow to be pruned away to make room in your life for you to grow in these areas and produce even more spiritual fruit than you currently are?

The “big rocks” Jesus wants us to prioritize are not about filling our lives with more religious activities. Jesus’ “big rocks” are about prioritizing relationships. We have to make room of our relationship with God. We have to make room for our relationships with spiritually lost friends. We have to make room for investing in other believers, helping them to grow as disciples. 

Apart From Him…

• Thank the Father that He will give you the wisdom to know everything you need to do and the strength to do everything you need to do. He doesn’t want you to feel overwhelmed or stressed. 

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Walking As Jesus…

• Open up your daily calendar. Does your daily, weekly and monthly schedule reflect Jesus’ disciple-making priorities? What is one change you can make to better align with His big rocks? 

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: