“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.” (John 15:16 NIV)
Jesus had been with the apostles for three years when He spoke these words. It was as if these men had been in a three-year seminary with Jesus with no days off – no weekends, holidays or summers. It was just Jesus 24/7. He was now about to be arrested and suffer all the things Mel Gibson so graphically portrayed in his film about the Passion of Jesus Christ.
These words must have fallen like a bombshell on these men. They had all made choices. But He now informed them that He had made the choices. He had chosen them. They had not chosen Him. He chose them for a purpose. That purpose was that they were to be fruitful. They were to bring forth fruit that lasts.
That is the definition of what we call a legacy or legacy giving. A legacy is fruit that lasts long after we have gone home to be with God for all eternity.
By application, we do not choose Jesus and take Him into our plans. He chooses us that He might take us into His plans. It is not all about us – it’s all about Him. Jesus adds the commentary that when we understand this, God will start answering our prayers.
Mother Teresa told us that the only safe, sure, wise, and lasting investment is what we give to God. Have you produced fruit for Christ that will last beyond your lifetime? Wouldn’t you like to leave a legacy of lasting eternal values?
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Posted by Dick Woodward 
