Abide in Him.
How unfortunate and sad it is; the very being of who I claim to root my existence in, can be what I try to cover up the most. Jesus died so that I would be reclaimed from the empty and old things that literally suck life away from me. But here I am, striving to be defined by sin. Why? Because having my needs temporarily met by sin feels amazing in the moment. Being immediately approved of by people is addicting. Receiving fast and misplaced affirmation and inclusion feels compulsory. In these things, I try to sustain myself with emptiness.
But we have the fullest form of completion, don’t we? God himself: Jesus Chirst; HIS very spirit dwelling within us- if we will authentically accept the invitation: for life, for the deepest and most rich form of companionship. Do we truly understand what we have? The creator of the Alaskan Aurorus, the mind that developed the math behind quantum theory physics, the artist that designed the complexity of the human body- the delicate creativity behind the grace of Misty Copland and the drive of Usain Bolt- He is closer than our very breath. He is with us in the morning, while we talk with our family, while we drive to work, while we grapple with the pain of this twisted world, and while we laugh with our closest friends. He is intimately with your heart. His very spirit is with you; given to you.
Yet still, it is so much easier to follow the wide path. It is so much more comfortable to pick those sins that the devil has tried to tailor, just for you. Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” If you are facing push-back in your faith, be encouraged: Jesus told us this would be hard. (John 16:33). If you are walking the narrow path, I believe it is designed to be hard → so that we cannot lean on success, people, material prosperity, and especially ourselves. Instead, the only way we will be able to stand is by FULLY leaning on God. I know that I fall A LOT because I continually try walking by myself. However, I think that falling is often what best teaches me where my focus should be and what my mission is→ to be fully abiding in Christ and His will for my life.
A friend of mine once told me, “Is it not the most amazing and reassuring thing, to know that every single detail of our existence and future, has already been settled in Heaven?!” That statement is so, incredibly true and absolutely blows my mind. When we die, we will not take our money, our titles, our property, our popularity or our ‘good works’ to heaven. “ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)” Our mission. Our purpose. Our salvation and worth; all have been determined already.
So if we know that none of these appealing, addicting and so attractive aspects of the world will fulfill us or go with us in the end, why do we want them? For myself and the reader, I would challenge the question: What are you an outgrowth of? What sustains you? John 15 directly addresses this question. First, we need to understand the definition of the word abide: To abide is to await, remain, lodge/sojourn, dwell, continue and endure in Christ. Christ is the true vine and we who claim fellowship in Him as Christians are the branches. In this scenario, the branches who live according to the world and produce worldly “fruit” are not abiding in the vine. They will be taken away. However, every branch that produces spiritual fruit, abides in Christ and will be pruned so that they may produce more fruit. You cannot possibly have the desire to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, if you are abiding in/being sustained by the world. The world makes it easy and attractive to produce/want, lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. But by abiding in Christ, He reshapes and “prunes” the desires of our hearts to reflect His heart, thus, developing us to be bearers of spiritual fruit. (Psalm 51:10) The idea of pruning further goes back to the two paths described in Matthew 7. Living on the wide path will not result in pruning and therefore will be much more comfortable. But the narrow path will result in reshaping, changing and shifting our hearts to be entwined with the will of God; the narrow road will be uncomfortable. AND even though living fully for Chist in this life will be hard, it is freeing. In the end, we will never have to present a list of what we did, how good we were, or how good our life was (there will be no value in these things, regardless). Our futures are settled in heaven. So instead of worrying, we can just be; Abiding in Christ.
In John 14: 15-17, Jesus tells His disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Several points stick out to me in Jesus’s words here: If we claim to know and love and be in Jesus (abiding in Him), we will live accordingly. If we are going to be real about our faith, we will honor His commandments because in following and keeping Christ’s commands, we are displaying this: what we are an outgrowth of and what sustains us. These words are also the reality of John 15:5 - Christ abiding in us through His holy Spirit; described as the “Helper to be with you forever” and“Spirit of truth” who will “dwell with you and be with you.”
So in the resistance of living for Jesus in this world, how do we practically start to abide in Him? We can know Him. Know what God says. Know what He loves, what He thinks- of us, of others, of our choices. Know His heart, His desires for us. God provided the greatest tools to know Him: 1. His Spirit/prayer, 2. His Word and 3. Wise counsel in true and seasoned believers. Be encouraged to take your next step.
