“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” John 15:7.

This promise seems almost too good to be true, if we look at it through human eyes. There is a false narrative among some people that religion, particularly Christianity, has to be difficult and full of suffering. Sadly, suffering does happen when evil forces exercise their free will and act in fear or hate to preserve their own self-interests. Remember what the religious leaders of Jesus’s own day said back in John chapter 11: “If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” It was this human desire to preserve their own power and possessions that caused Jesus’s suffering and crucifixion. On the other hand, Jesus acted in ways that brought life, health, and sustenance, as we see in his miracles. 

Jesus told his disciples in Chapter 13 that he was the “model” of the Father on earth. Jesus served his friends in love by washing their feet. In other miracles in the Gospel of John, we see Jesus giving joy by turning water into wine; we see him heal people; we see him feed the multitudes; and we see him raise Lazarus from the dead. In our reading today, Jesus is saying “remain in me and let my words remain in you” (paraphrase), because he wants us to remember the model he gave us. If we follow his model, we are promised: “ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” 

Why would Jesus make this promise to us?

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 14:11).  Jesus was joyful! He was incarnate Love and that made him joyful. Jesus says that he wants us to have this joy too, and he tells us how to get it: “love one another as I love you” (John 15:12).  It all comes back to Love. When we make Love the center of our living, acting, thinking, speaking and praying, we are promised that “ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” 

First we must believe that we are fully loved and accepted by God in our very bones. Jesus says many, many times throughout the Gospel of John that he loves us and that the Father loves us. Accepting this divine love as part of our being, our birthright, is the first thing we need in order that our “joy may be complete.” The second step is to love ourselves and love each other, as Jesus commanded. He only gave us one command: love one another! When we do this, our wants and desires naturally change. Our primary focus will move from “getting” and “surviving” to “giving” and “living”.  I believe this is what Jesus means when he promises, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you”.