December 12th

Abide in Me

          I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:1-5

             All three of my children were snugglers.  They loved nothing more than cuddling with their mother.  They loved the softness of her skin, the feel of her beating heart, the sound of her voice.  They would spend hours together in bed or on the couch or in a Maya-wrap as my wife walked around.  They just wanted to be close…to be held…to abide.

            “Abide in Me as I abide in you.”  Abiding is not working.  It is not productive.  It is not mission-driven.  Abiding is where your heart calls home.  It is where you rest and where you feel safe.  My kids did not snuggle with me much.  Sometimes I could get them to fall asleep.  Sometimes they were happy to just sit with me, but it was rare.  Their home for the early years was their mother.  They knew that they had a safe haven and a refuge.  If the world was scary or sad, they had a deep and foundational assurance that they were okay.

            “Abide in Me as I abide in you.”  Our home is to be Jesus.  We are to rest in Him.  Not just because the world makes us tired, but because apart from Him, we can do nothing.  Apart from Jesus, we are burdened by fear and insecurity.  Apart from Jesus we are lost in self-absorption.  Apart from Jesus, we have nothing to offer others: no love, no hope, no joy, no encouragement…nothing.

            “Abide in Me as I abide in you.”  Prayer and quiet times have taken on a different form for me.  They used to be times where I wanted to strategize and plan and figure out how to move forward with the mission.  Now prayer is mostly abiding…resting in Jesus…spiritual snuggling if you will.  It is simply sitting and being and allowing God’s love to pour over us. 

            “Abide in Me as I abide in you.”  That is the invitation.  Be with God.  Wait with God.  Discover at a deep and foundational level that God is our refuge, our strength and our home.

A moment to reflect:

Take some time to abide with Jesus today.