By Products

By Products

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may
be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
                                                 John 15:11

By products are products made during the manufacture, processing, or refinement of something else; they are an often unexpected and secondary benefit of some action. Maybe some examples will help us to see where this is going. For example, look at some of the by products of crude oil:

                      Ammonia                      Hair Coloring                 Bandages
                      Caulking                       Artificial Turf                 Ballpoint Pens
                      Antifreeze                    Contact Lenses                Footballs
 

After the gasoline and oil has been produced, each of these rather significant items is produced as a by product of the refinement of crude oil.

With corn, some of the by products include spark plugs for our cars, latex paint for our houses, wallpaper for decorating, and licorice for long car rides and summer vacations. And after we harvest the wool and enjoy the lamb chops, the by products produced from sheep include makeup, cosmetics, and tanning lotion, not to mention items for plastic surgery, piano keys and adhesive tape. These are all products that are the result of a primary process. We don’t pump crude oil from the depths of the earth because of our need for caulking or contact lenses; it would never be worth it. But as by products, we are greatly blessed to enjoy their benefits.

Reading a statement last night that ended with “….and the by product of doing that is joy” caused a light bulb to go on in my head. Are we asking to God to give us things that are really the by product of something else? We long for understanding and ask God to help us understand. But David wrote the following in Psalm 73:16-17

“When is tried to understand all this, it was troubling to me

  until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood….”

It’s interesting that he didn’t find understanding until he went into the sanctuary and into God’s presence, and as a by product of his action, as a by product of spending time in the presence of the Lord, he received understanding. The same is seen when Jesus talks about wanting our joy to be full. He didn’t encourage His disciples to ask for joy; He encouraged them to have an abiding relationship with Him and to walk in obedience to His commands. He was saying that if you do those things, major on your relationship with the Lord and walk in obedience to His Word, you will be filled with joy. But it wouldn’t be joy as an answer to prayer; it would be joy unspeakable as the by product of an abiding relationship with Jesus, the true vine. And that is a by product available to each of us today!

God Bless
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church