Mantras are short statements used to encourage, motivate, or direct. When people are struggling, a mantra is used to show them the value of what they are doing so they can get their priorities in order.
Throughout Scripture, Jesus used controlling metaphors to bring clarity and direction to the things we should be about, and we use some of these controlling metaphors as mantras—as things we can rally around and be known for.
There’s incredible power in a controlling metaphor. A few words can paint a picture of an image that has deep application and far-reaching implications. A good metaphor can provide clarity and direction, revealing new understandings.
If you really consider a metaphor, it will unlock ideas difficult to understand with simple statements of fact. I think when God wanted to reveal Himself, He knew people would have a hard time understanding Him and His nature. So, He often revealed what He is like and how we should respond to Him by using metaphors.
God describes Himself as a rock, a shepherd, a father, a physician, a king. Those metaphors help us understand different aspects of who God is. As Shepherd, He guides me. As Father, He provides for me. As Physician, He cares for me. As King, He has authority over me.
Jesus said, “I am the living water,” so when we drink of the living water, we finally find what we thirst for. When Jesus spoke of His return, He used the metaphor of a thief that comes in the night so we won’t be caught off guard. And in John 15, when Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches,” it helps us understand the most important thing for the branch is to stay connected to the Vine.
If you read through this section of Scripture, there is one word that keeps showing up—remain. It appears 11 times in 11 verses, making it clear that Jesus doesn’t want us to miss this. The call to remain is a call to faithfulness and consistency—where each day we make staying connected to Jesus a priority. The idea of the word is “a constant dependence…”
When you walk through a vineyard, one thing is clear—fruit can only come through connection. As individuals, we are each called to be the branch. That starts with simply abiding in Jesus—drawing our strength and life from Him alone. Because Jesus is Savior, we’ll couch everything we do in humble reliance upon the grace that has already saved us.
But it doesn’t end there. When Jesus truly becomes Lord of our lives, we’ll do whatever He says, even when it doesn’t make sense. We’ll grow in the ways He directs us and go wherever He leads us, and at the end of the day, we’ll recognize we can do nothing of any real value apart from Him.
Jesus says, “No matter what happens, stay connected to me.” That’s where your strength is found. That’s what will allow you to bear fruit. So, He talks to the disciples about the priority of connection. It’s connection that leads to production. Your job is to be the branch.
Our second issue of Unleashed is all about how God can use ordinary people who live in constant dependence on Jesus.
KYLE IDLEMAN
Senior Pastor
Southeast Christian Church