John 15:16

John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

This is one of my favorite Bible passages. It was my favorite before I fully understood why it was my favorite. The part that strikes me the most is the 16th verse in Bold. Before all else ... before I learned of Him ... before I chose to follow Him ... before I loved Him ... He chose ME! Before I understood why this passage meant so much to me this is all I learned from it. But in time I found myself moving on through the words to discover that not only did He choose me, He appointed me to go and bear fruit that will remain! He didn't just choose me and say just "be." He chose me for a specific task and vocation. One that would spread His love to all His children, a love that will remain forever. But even more still I gleamed from this one sentence in John's Gospel ... Whatever I ask the Father in His name the Father will give me! He didn't just leave me to my own devices to accomplish this task! He made sure that whatever I might need to "bear fruit that will remain" would be within my grasp. All I have to do is ask! If I do not receive what I have asked for it must not be what will bear much fruit.
This is how I understand my vocation ...
Keep the Faith!
Betsy