Abide

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit….I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.... If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." - John 15:1-2, 5, 7-10

This morning, I went jogging. It was a typical day and although it was still early, I already had my agenda planned out - jogging, shower, a little tablet time, church, make a phone call, more tablet time, eat lunch, watch a football game, still more tablet time, eat supper, get even more tablet time, and then go to sleep (if I can put my tablet down long enough). Isn’t it funny how God gets our attention when we lose focus? Time is a precious commodity. Each second is a gift from God. It is numbered and can never be reclaimed. If you are like me, too many seconds get wasted on futile things. The seconds become hours and then the day is gone. This is such a shame because we have been called for an amazing purpose. God has called us to reflect His light and love in the dark world, yet too often we let distractions make us unfruitful.

While jogging God caught my attention. The sunrise was one of a memorable handful of breathtaking beauties - cotton candy pink clouds against the most ardent baby blue sky. Colorful beauty blanketed the entire sky for a few minutes before it faded, but it accomplished its task. God made me stop and listen to His voice. He said one word, "Abide!"

The text in John fifteen recalls Jesus' command to His disciples which also comes with a promise. I believe that this is a timeless truth that is also applicable today to Christ's followers. Jesus stated that we are to abide in Him and He will abide in us. Then and only then can we produce fruit. Jesus does not stop there. He also gives the promise that if we abide in Him and His word abides in us, we can ask Him for anything, and He will give it. Wow! That is almost too amazing to believe, right? God cannot lie, so it is true. By abiding we have both the power and provisions to bear fruit. All we need to do is abide in Christ's love and let it change each person we meet.

When God abides in us, we cannot help but live fruitful lives. Fruit is simply the natural process of reproduction. It comes about when a plant functions as it was designed. Jesus uses a grape vine and its branches as a metaphor. A branch does not have its own agenda. It lives off of the nourishment of the vine, and just by abiding it brings forth fruit. When we abide in Christ, He fills us with love. Because we know that we are loved, we can love others. This love naturally produces fruit because anything exposed to Jesus' love is forever changed. We do not have to do anything extraordinary. We simply have to abide and be what God has called us to be: a part of Him.

This world is filled with distractions. Satan places many of them in our path because when we abide in Christ, the world around us is changed. One seed can grow into hundreds simply by following God's design. We often complain about the state of the world, when we each have the power with God's help to make it different. Galatians 5:22-24 lists the Spiritual fruit that is produced by abiding - "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." When these fruits characterize our lives, they plant seeds that will one day sprout life into a barren land. For even the hardest ground can be cracked by a seed. Abide and bear fruit.