Abiding

 January 17, 2023

Sunday, I preached about what it means to “abide” in Christ (John 15:4). Here’s what Jesus said: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” “Abide” is a word we don’t use much anymore unless we’re commenting on Jesus’ words here. It’s the verb form of the noun “abode,” which is another old-fashioned word referring to one’s home. 

I commented on these words of Jesus on January 11, noting that our abode is where we live, where we go for rest and nourishment; it’s where we belong. We may spend a great deal of time at work, but it’s not our abode, where we live. If we travel, we stay overnight at a motel or B & B, but it’s not where we live. My point was, Jesus wants to be our default, where our thoughts and affections gravitate when we’re not actively engaged in something else, like our job or school work. It’s where he wants us to turn when anxious or afraid, instead of to drugs, alcohol, pornography, or even hobbies. 

When Linda and I were talking about this the other day, she asked, “How can we possibly be thinking of Jesus all the time?” That’s a good question, deserving an honest answer, and Jesus gave us the answer shortly after telling us to abide in him: 

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” —John 15:10, 12 NKJV

It’s not a matter of having every thought being about Jesus. That would, as my old Sunday School teacher used to say, make us “so heavenly minded we’re no earthly good.” When Jesus said, “Abide in me,” he explained it by telling us to love one another. How can I know if I’m “abiding in Jesus?” Not only by how often I think of him, but also by how often I think of others, both instead of thinking about myself. Abiding in Christ means shifting my thought patterns from my own concerns to others, of putting their needs before my own. 

I woke up today not feeling particularly spiritual. I read my Bible, prayed as best I was able, but certainly didn’t feel very connected to God. But I had a list of people I had planned to see; people in the hospital, nursing home, a shut in, and a friend whose life has been restricted for months to rounds of doctor’s visits. When I started, I can’t say I really felt eager to do so, but by the time I got home, my outlook had completely changed. Paying attention to others was a form of abiding in Christ by allowing his love for them to live and find its home in my heart. Was I every moment thinking of Jesus? Nope. But was I abiding in Christ? I believe so. I know this much: even without being conscious of it, I was receiving the life-giving flow of the Holy Spirit into my heart, making it possible to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… (Galatians 5:22), and that’s good enough for me.