Fearless Prayer by Craig J. Hazen

Author:Craig J. Hazen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736973809
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

THE CARROT AND THE STICK

If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6).

Jesus used the carrot and the stick to get his message across in this passage. (Although a carrot is not fruit, in the case of my analogy here, it is.) Those who experience the joy of the Lord through bearing his fruit know it is a powerful incentive to remain plugged in to Jesus. The delight of bearing fruit is the carrot that draws us forward in the Lord.

The stick to motivate us to abide in Jesus sounds ominous—thrown away, withers, thrown into the fire, burned. Some commentators see the symbols of judgment here and conclude that Jesus might be talking about losing one’s salvation. Or it might be a reference to Judas Iscariot again as in verse 2. Judgment certainly seemed to visit Judas in that the guilt of his betrayal was so strong that he went out and hanged himself. That could line up with a branch that is thrown away, withers, and burns.

But some scholars caution against making too much of the symbols in this verse. It is, after all, a simile—a common literary device used often by Jesus to make colorful comparisons. “You are like a branch that is thrown away and withers.” So we need to be careful in drawing major theological conclusions from an isolated illustration like this. The broadest and safest interpretation of this word picture is this: If we do not remain tightly connected with Jesus, it will be disastrous for our fruit bearing and for our overall spiritual life. It is another way of saying, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” There might be more going on in this verse, but virtually everyone should be able to agree on the broad interpretation. The tasty carrot is the joy of bearing the Lord’s fruit; the painful stick is the knowledge that if we do not remain in Jesus, we will be giving up any meaningful kingdom activity in our lives.

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