"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Much has been written and said about the importance of our abiding in the Messiah. But what exactly does it mean?
Luke's description of Paul's shipwreck gives us a hint of what this "abiding" includes. When he wrote that the bow of the ship got stuck "and could not move," Luke used the same word that John uses in (John 15) for Jesus' words about abiding in him.
It is a very descriptive picture. The bow of the ship has run aground. It is so firmly wedged in place that the pounding of the sea cannot move it. Luke adds another word to describe how the bow of the ship is "immovable, unshakable."
It would seem, then, that our "abiding" is more than just a passive state we find ourselves in after we believe. It is, rather, being so committed to our position in Christ that nothing can shake us from it. The storms of life can try to batter us. We can be tested, even feeling that we are on the verge of breaking, and yet we hold on to him. Our position is secure, and nothing or no one can move us from it.
It is in this immovable position that Jesus says we will bear fruit. It is when we are "stuck in" that he promises, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it." (John 15:7).
- 28 APRIL -