ABIDING
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:5-8)
Just before World War II in Itasca, Texas, there was a school fire that took the lives of 263 children. It was a shocking disaster. There was scarcely a family in town which was not touched by this horrifying tragedy. During the war, Itasca remained without school facilities. But when the war ended, the town, like many others began to expand and in fact built a new school which featured what was called “the finest sprinkler system in the world.” Civic pride ran high. Never again would the citizens of Itasca be caught with such a tragedy on their hands. Honor students were selected to take citizens of the community on tours through the new school, to show off the finest, most advanced sprinkler system technology could supply and money could buy. With the postwar boom, the town continued to grow and seven years later it was necessary to add another new addition. Plans were drawn, and the contracts were awarded. Unbelievably, when they began construction, and uncovered the sprinkler pipes, they discovered that their brand new state of the art sprinkler system had never actually been connected.
Can you imagine the shock it must have been for that community to discover that the security they were counting on was only an illusion? Having a good solid connection can mean the difference between life and death. The same is true for all of us. That’s why Jesus spent time with his disciples teaching the importance of this vital issue. He tells his followers to picture two branches. One has been broken off and is withered and dry. There is no life within it – no nourishing water coursing through its veins. It’s not good for anything other than being thrown into the fire to be burned. The other branch is connected. It’s lush and green because it is constantly being nourished by life-giving water coming from its deep roots. It soaks in the sunlight as it stretches to grow and expand. Best of all, it produces fruit to reduplicate itself and provide for others.
Jesus is of course really talking about you and me. He says, “abide in me.” It’s his way of pleading with us to be connected to God in such a way that we are constantly receiving new life from within. Abiding simply means that we invite Jesus to walk with us through every moment of our whole life. We include Jesus in every decision and opportunity we have. In every difficulty we encounter, we seek the counsel of His Word and Spirit first. We trust that His power and wisdom are more than enough for the concerns of life. We walk with him and talk with him and allow him to govern and guide us. No matter what happens, we choose to listen for his voice.
Abiding is a decision we have to make on a daily basis. Jesus underlines this in the passage by using that little word, “If.” If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. The choice is yours. God will not force you to abide. You must decide for yourself. And it’s not always an easy decision. We live in a world which is constantly pulling us away from abiding – constantly trying to uproot us from the nourishing relationship he wants us to have. But when that happens, the predictable results follow. We dry up internally. We isolate ourselves from others. We begin to believe we can get by on own wisdom and strength. We become fruitless.
What’s your connection like today? It was a very dangerous thing for the citizens of Itasca to allow disconnected pipes buried in some forgotten wall. It is even more serious for any of us to think we can remain disconnected without facing devastating consequences.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
Just before World War II in Itasca, Texas, there was a school fire that took the lives of 263 children. It was a shocking disaster. There was scarcely a family in town which was not touched by this horrifying tragedy. During the war, Itasca remained without school facilities. But when the war ended, the town, like many others began to expand and in fact built a new school which featured what was called “the finest sprinkler system in the world.” Civic pride ran high. Never again would the citizens of Itasca be caught with such a tragedy on their hands. Honor students were selected to take citizens of the community on tours through the new school, to show off the finest, most advanced sprinkler system technology could supply and money could buy. With the postwar boom, the town continued to grow and seven years later it was necessary to add another new addition. Plans were drawn, and the contracts were awarded. Unbelievably, when they began construction, and uncovered the sprinkler pipes, they discovered that their brand new state of the art sprinkler system had never actually been connected.
Can you imagine the shock it must have been for that community to discover that the security they were counting on was only an illusion? Having a good solid connection can mean the difference between life and death. The same is true for all of us. That’s why Jesus spent time with his disciples teaching the importance of this vital issue. He tells his followers to picture two branches. One has been broken off and is withered and dry. There is no life within it – no nourishing water coursing through its veins. It’s not good for anything other than being thrown into the fire to be burned. The other branch is connected. It’s lush and green because it is constantly being nourished by life-giving water coming from its deep roots. It soaks in the sunlight as it stretches to grow and expand. Best of all, it produces fruit to reduplicate itself and provide for others.
Jesus is of course really talking about you and me. He says, “abide in me.” It’s his way of pleading with us to be connected to God in such a way that we are constantly receiving new life from within. Abiding simply means that we invite Jesus to walk with us through every moment of our whole life. We include Jesus in every decision and opportunity we have. In every difficulty we encounter, we seek the counsel of His Word and Spirit first. We trust that His power and wisdom are more than enough for the concerns of life. We walk with him and talk with him and allow him to govern and guide us. No matter what happens, we choose to listen for his voice.
Abiding is a decision we have to make on a daily basis. Jesus underlines this in the passage by using that little word, “If.” If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. The choice is yours. God will not force you to abide. You must decide for yourself. And it’s not always an easy decision. We live in a world which is constantly pulling us away from abiding – constantly trying to uproot us from the nourishing relationship he wants us to have. But when that happens, the predictable results follow. We dry up internally. We isolate ourselves from others. We begin to believe we can get by on own wisdom and strength. We become fruitless.
What’s your connection like today? It was a very dangerous thing for the citizens of Itasca to allow disconnected pipes buried in some forgotten wall. It is even more serious for any of us to think we can remain disconnected without facing devastating consequences.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
posted by Larry | 12:21 PM
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