John 15:16

John 15:16 says, Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it unto you.  Jesus was speaking to His disciples at that time.  He had chosen them, and He was leaving them expecting them to bear fruit for God.  When they were asking for things necessary for bringing forth fruit, they could ask the Father for anything.  The same is true today.  We are Jesus's followers because He has called us.  We do not suddenly just decide to follow Jesus on our own, but we do so because He is always calling people to Him. The disciples were a select group called for a particular purpose, and we as Christians are part of a select group called for a particular purpose.  The ultimate result of each calling is to bring forth fruit, to reach others with the gospel of Christ.  God will equip us to carry out that purpose.  Verse seventeen adds, These things I command you, that ye love one another.  I believe we can safely say that as followers of Christ, we are to be ruled by love for one another.  I also believe this extends to all people.  Jesus died not for some, but for all, and we are to love the same way.  Verse eighteen continues, If the world hates you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.  We should never be surprised that we, as Jesus' followers, are hated by the world, because He was crucified by the world.  We sometimes moan about how badly the world treats us, but we are certainly no greater than Jesus, and He continued to reach out to the lost world, even on the cross.  Verse nineteen concludes, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.  We can expect nothing but opposition from the world as we share the Good News of Christ.  Still, we are to follow the example of Jesus and reach out to the world with love.