Who gets the credit?

Over this past year, things have been going well at the church where I serve. We weathered through the pandemic and challenging season of staff transition. We put together a new team that has started to come together well. Many new people are coming to visit our church, and there seems to be a sense of momentum as we head into the fall. 

While I’m enjoying this season of ministry, I need to be careful. There are moments when I’m tempted to take credit for the success of our team. However, the truth is that without the team, there would be no success. Credit isn’t mine for the taking.

I find this same temptation rears its head in my spiritual life as well. When I find myself in seasons of spiritual growth, where the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) is evident to me and others, it’s easy to believe that it’s due to my own making. However, Jesus makes it clear in John 15 that He is the reason for any success in our spiritual lives. He is the vine and we are the branches. He explicitly says, “apart from me you can do nothing” (v5). Our responsibility is not to produce spiritual fruit, but simply to be conduits of Jesus' life. Just like there is no success without my team, there is no fruit without Jesus. 

When we lose sight of Jesus being the originator of fruit in our lives, we begin to think that we are the vine instead of the branches. The result is spiritual pride. We detach ourselves from Jesus, forgetting our enormous need for Him, and quickly start the process of spiritual withering and dying. 

Stay connected to Christ. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.