I went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch today. As I paid at the drive-thru window, the cashier said, “I think you spoke at my Baccalaureate service last night. You did a good job.” I smiled and thanked her for the compliment and then drove away amazed. A teenager had just freely and willingly complimented me!
I did, indeed, speak at a Baccalaureate service last night. I was asked last Thursday. The message that God laid on my heart during Saturday night’s rainstorm (which is when this picture was made) was non-traditional for a Baccalaureate service, but I hope that it will stick with the students and families that were there last night—and with you right now if you choose to read to the bottom of this post. It is long. But here is my message, “Fruit That Will Last.”
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Around the time that you all entered this world, I was involved in a scripture memorization project with a friend. One week, she would choose a verse or passage of scripture to memorize. The next week, I would do the same. We continued this for an entire year.
One of the passages that I chose for us to memorize was the passage that you just heard, John 15:9-17. Now, I'd be lying if I told you that I could still quote the passage word-for-word. I cannot! But I can still quote phrases from the passage and I know that it is one of the passages of scripture that I fall back on time and time again.
Let’s listen to the passage again.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other…
I can’t be sure, but I imagine that the past few weeks have been full of activity and emotion as you have finally accomplished a goal that you’ve held for 13 years. Last week, at Kindergarten graduation, one of my Kindergarten students announced that his favorite part of Kindergarten was that everyone in his family had attended Kindergarten and that he had been able to carry on the family tradition 😊. In completing high school, some of you have carried on a family tradition while others of you have created a new family tradition. Either way, you have accomplished a huge goal, and for that you should be proud.
Yet accomplishments bring change…and change can be scary. At the time that Jesus delivered these words of scripture, he and his disciples were preparing for a huge change. Jesus knew that the end of his life was near and he wanted to teach his disciples everything that he could to prepare them for his absence. Together, they had accomplished a lot, yet the time had come for Jesus to leave them. So what did he tell them to do in his absence? What were some of his final words of teaching on this earth? Love one another.
And what’s more. What did he call them? He called them friends. Jesus calls us friends!
I think it’s safe to say that we all know the importance of having friends. Friends love and support us. Friends laugh and cry with us. Friends give us rides and show up for us when we need them. Friends stick with us despite our shortcomings. Friends help make life bearable when things are at their darkest.
Sometimes friends come and friends go. That is one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn. Sometimes friendships are temporary—for a reason or for a season. And that’s okay. Yet some friendships are forever. Your friendship with Christ is for forever. It’s important that you don’t forget that, students…because as life changes over the next few months and years, you will need your friends…and you will need Jesus.
What’s more, you will need to remember what Jesus said about laying down your life for your friends. There will be so many times in your future that you feel helpless to help those you love. Whether you plan to go to college, to serve in the military, or to go directly into the workforce, you will find yourself surrounded by people you call friends. You will need each other, yet sometimes the only thing you will be able to do for each other is to lay down your life in prayer.
I cannot tell you how many times I remind myself of these words—greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. When your hands are tied. When your heart is breaking. When you are watching someone fail for the first time. When you feel as if you can do nothing else. Lay down your life in prayer for your friends, students. Jesus has laid down his life for you…and he has sent the Holy Spirit to intercede for you when you cannot find the words to pray…for your friends…for your family....for yourself.
Speaking of yourself…did you notice what else Jesus said about you? Not only has Jesus called you friend, but he has chosen you—he has appointed you—to bear fruit—fruit that will last. No. Jesus does not necessarily expect you plant fruit trees that will produce a yearly harvest—although some of you will become farmers that provide the crops that help sustain us, and I thank you for that.
Jesus expects us to bear spiritual fruit—characteristics of the Spirit—that influence people’s lives from season to season. In Galatians 5, we read that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Can you image what this world would look like if we all strived to live our lives according to those virtues?!
Listen to the list again—the list of fruit that Jesus has appointed us to bear—(insert motions with the words here)—Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
Now. I could go into what each of these words means and how you can apply them to your lives. But I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to teach you a song that will teach you the Fruits of the Spirit that will get stuck in your head and allow you to ponder what each fruit means in your life. For instance, self-control for me might mean not eating too many Cheet-ohs when someone offers them 😊. For you, it will probably mean something else. So here we go. It’s time to learn The Fruits of the Spirit.
***TEACH FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT SONG***
Banana
Granny Smith Apple
Kiwi
Coconut
Georgia Peace
Mango
You’re welcome, everyone. May you never forget that little earworm…because…seriously, it summarizes what Jesus has called you to do with your life—regardless of accomplishment, award, vocation, or socio-economic status—Jesus has called you to bear fruit that will last…and that fruit is—say it with me one more time—Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control.
So…do you see why I chose to memorize John 15:9-17 all those years ago?
Jesus calls us friend.
Jesus tells us that when can do nothing else, we can lay down our lives for our friends.
Jesus challenges us to bear virtues that not only change the world but change us.
And, finally, Jesus commands us, above all else, to love each other.
He didn’t say to separate ourselves from one another because of differences. He said to love each other despite our differences because that is what He came to do.
Students: As you begin the next chapter of your life, I pray that you will remember that you are loved and called by a God who has chosen you—yes, YOU—to do great things in this world—the greatest of which is love.
There will be times when you are on a roll and cannot seem to do anything wrong. Then there will be other times when you run into wall after wall and feel as if you will never do anything right again.
Yet though it all, your call remains the same: Go and bear fruit, my friends, fruit that will last. For this is God’s command: Love each other.
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