Thursday, November 9

Remain in Me

Scripture: John 15

John 15:4–8 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.

Observation

Jesus used the metaphor of a vine and branch to depict His relationship with us. A branch must remain in the vine—stay connected—in order to bear fruit. If it remains in the vine, it bears fruit automatically, naturally. If it is cut off, disconnected, it dries up and withers and is only good for firewood. 

So Jesus says, “Remain in Me…remain in Me…remain in Me…remain in Me…remain in Me.” Five times…for emphasis. If you had been there, it would have been unforgettable. “I think Jesus wants us to remain in Him.” 

The word “remain” has been translated “abide, remain, stay or dwell.” It means to remain in the same place over a period of time. I like “abide;” the place is our abode. Or “dwell” and the place is our dwelling. Abide in Jesus.

Application

What does it look like practically to abide in Jesus? How do I stay connected?

It comes back to the basics: 

  • My daily time with Jesus. Prayer, listening, reading the Word (“if My words remain in you…”), journaling. Don’t let this devolve into a duty. It’s about relationship with Jesus! You are meeting with Jesus; the point is to stay connected. 
  • Living in Christian community. Every “you” in this passage is plural. Jesus said this to His band of followers together. “You all—together—abide in Me.” When you cut yourself off from the church, you begin to wither. Christianity is a team sport. No one does it alone. (The church—that is, people—can be frustrating, so it’s tempting to think we can do it better alone, without the distraction and pain of other people. Don’t be fooled: we need each other; we even need the pain.)
  • Other spiritual practices: solitude and silence, retreat, study, reading, meditation, serving, worship, celebration, slowing, secrecy, confession, et al. The point isn’t that we have to do all these, but that we find practices that keep us connected to Jesus. Again, some of these are done alone; many are done in community.

Like any relationship, ours with Jesus thrives in direct relation to the effort invested. If we ignore it, we wither. If we invest (remain, abide), we grow…and naturally bear fruit.

Prayer: Lord, I love You and I want to stay connected to You and bear fruit and bring you glory. 

More: Nehemiah 7-8, Psalm 130, Luke 9