“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)

I had an interesting thought. The words written in the text above were spoken by Jesus on the night of His arrest. “In this world you will have trouble,” He said. Twenty-four hours later, Jesus was dead and in the grave. “… you will have trouble,” indeed!
While He was dead and in the grave, do you remember where the disciples were? They were hiding! “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews ….” (John 20:19a) With Jesus gone, they feared they would be next!
I guess that means they took what He said a few chapters earlier seriously. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5) They thought they were apart from Him now, so they could do nothing. No more fruit to bear. And their thinking is understandable, isn’t it? They had seen Him die! In their minds His death meant that everything He had said before was invalidated.
But then comes the Good News of Easter: Jesus rose from the dead!
And right after John tells us that “… the doors (were) locked for fear of the Jews,” he continues, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19b) How do you think their mood changed in that moment? The text only tells us that they were “overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20b) And then Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21) And because we have record known as the book of “Acts,” we know that the disciples finally understood their purpose, unlocked the doors, and became fruit-bearing branches of the eternal vine!

Why do I mention all this in these days of Covid-19? We, too, have been called to find peace in Him. We, too, have been called to be fruit-bearing branches of the vine. We, too, have been told that we will have trouble in this world. We, too, have been told to remain in Him. We, too, have been told we can do nothing without Him. And, we, too, have had to lock our doors for fear … of the Coronavirus.
Now, before anyone thinks otherwise: YES, we should be in our homes while the virus remains. Yes, we should lock our doors at appropriate times. We need to do this to be a part of the solution, fighting against this awful disease! With that in mind, hear me out:
Notice that the disciples weren’t bearing any “fruit that would last” behind those locked doors! Is the same true of us, I wonder? See, when we are in times of “trouble” as Jesus predicted, we, like His original disciples, often close our minds to His purpose for our lives. We go into hiding and lock the doors of our hearts. Personal safety becomes our obsession. Other people become the competition.
We see it in so much of society. Why was there a run on toilet paper early on in this crisis? It was because people became so obsessed with self-care that they lost any concern that their neighbor may need some. Our cultural obsession with toilet paper became the target of many a political cartoon and late-night talk show host!
It was beautiful to talk to Gini Burt during that time. She has a family of seven as most reading this will know. She had bought a case of toilet paper PRIOR TO the crisis, and she said, “If you know anyone who needs some, please let me know!” If anyone DOES need TP by the case, it would be a family of seven … but Gini refused to lock the door of her heart! I believe that made God smile!
All this to say: “troubles” tend to cause “the world” to lock its heart and think only of itself. However, when we know the One who has “overcome the world,” we unlock our hearts and consider where He is sending us, // and what fruit He desires us to bear.

What fruit has Jesus called you to bear each day during this crisis?

Blessings! Pastor Bill