No Bootstraps


 

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

I had a great conversation with a friend yesterday. We haven’t really talked in far too long. In catching me up on her life she shared some hard things that are going on in her family.  At one point she mentioned that her husband had told her that another family member should “pull herself up by her bootstraps.” Uh-oh! While I get hubby’s perspective, the only answer to the disaster which is currently encompassing their loved one, is Jesus. My friend knows that and is trying to help her dear one to see it as well.

In our conversation I quoted the above verse to her. Bootstraps aren’t going to get us anywhere. Oddly during the conversation my friend had to refasten the strap on her boot a few times. Why? Well, obviously because it popped open but mostly because God is good all the time. There is no bootstrap, elbow grease or steely eyed determination that defeats an attack by our enemy. One source of victory is available to us, one, and that is Jesus Christ.

Clinging to that vine is what makes my life livable, at times quite enjoyable and most important, fruitful. Yesterday in that conversation, I hope that my sweet friend was blessed. I know she blessed me. She put her trust in my faith which inspires me to be even more faithful. She gave me the opportunity to pray for her in the moment and to carry her burden with her as we are instructed in Galatians 6:2.

If you are a person who believes that you need to make huge efforts, pull up bootstraps, prove your worth or whatever other cliché comes to mind, please stop. Please read the verse above again, especially the last line. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Nothing. No thing. We live and move and have being in Christ alone. (Acts 17:28)

Put on your boots, big girl panties or whatever else helps you feel confident but never forget that your true confidence comes from being a child of God. (1 John 3:1)  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Applause, Applause and Protection

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1 Reading some Scripture this morning I was reminded of a message that I watched from Louie Giglio. In it Louie described a child of God leaving her home for the day. He goes on about how the heavenly beings see it. With great excitement, he tells of the joy and applause going on in heaven as the woman gets in the elevator, gets to the parking lot and gets in her car. It’s hilarious and over the top, (remember I did say it was Louie Giglio!) but there’s a great lesson in it. My husband and I were watching a TV show about a fictional former president. At one point the poor man is just over the Secret Service detail. He’s tired of them following him around so he fires them. It takes less than five minutes for him to start to see all that they’ve been doing for...
Read more

My Father Saw That

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me, “for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 There’s a movie from several years ago that I absolutely love! It’s called “The American President.” The premise is that the president, who is a widower, has begun to date. He’s dating a lovely woman while running for reelection. His opponent is awful. He knows he doesn’t have much of a chance against the popular incumbent so he tries to make a mountain out of the molehill of the standing president’s romance. At one point there is a news clip that shows the woman in a protest during her college days. After the clip plays the opponent refers to the president’s lady friend as “the president’s whore.” She groans and says to the president “My father saw that!” She is devastated, not because what is being said is true but because her father, who she loves and respects, saw the clip and heard those words spoken about her. I thought of ...
Read more

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p...
Read more