John 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing."
(continuing on with more of last Saturday night's teaching on "knowing your position in Christ")
The whole deal of following Jesus is simply that. Follow.
To follow means to take up a position behind someone. In this case, the someone is Jesus.
Jesus spells out for us the symbiotic relationship of life with Him. He is THE vine. Not one of many vines. Not a vine. The Vine. And we, if we have been saved, are branches that are connected to Him. In Him we have life. In Him we have abundance. In Him we have everything we need to make it through our time here on earth, and beyond into eternity.
But there is the idea of abiding. Putting down roots In Christ. Letting Christ dwell richly in each of us. This abiding centers around the idea of giving up my right to choose to accept His choices for me. I can do so because I have found the value in what He wants for me. I know this kind of smacks in the face of Western-American-Christianity. But to me, it's pretty simple, and falls to the end of the verse from John 15. "For without Me you can do nothing." What falls under "nothing?" Everything. So the idea of learning to abide is one that we have to build on as we learn the value of listening and then following the instructions that Jesus gives to us. All the while, obedience is building a shelter for us to live under. Jesus even said so in Matthew 7:24 - "Anyone who hears these words of Mine and then puts them into practice, is like a wise man who builds his house upon a foundation of rock." No one builds a house unless they are planning on living there. Jesus calls us to abide, or live, in Him.
The word "ABIDE" is a verb that means "to stay, dwell, stand in a given place, a state of being, standing in expectancy." In other words, we must live in the moment and listen in the moment for the next step in life journey. Jesus states that if we abide in Him...then He will abide in us. He, Jesus, being the vine, produces nourishment for the vine to help it grow and produce the fruit it is capable of bearing.
Going back to the verse from John 15 (Without Me you can do nothing) is the very heart of the first three steps of the Twelve Steps.
Step # 1- we admit we are powerless. Our lives have become unmanageable.
Step # 2 - Come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity.
And finally....
Step # 3 - Made a decision to turn will and life over to the care of God as we understood Him.
That final step, Step #3, is the abiding step. The driving down of our tent pegs to weather whatever storm life may bring our way. We are powerless without Him. We have power when we are in Him and He is in us.
Well, if you noticed, I'm up late: 12:14 a.m.
So I'm going to check out now and I will continue on with this teaching tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by the Greene Street Letters.
God on you...
mb
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