This weekend, I’m teaching a breakout session at Summit’s Nexus Project for students. (Side note… I’m always surprised how much God teaches me through the preparation process. In fact, my prayers for the students have been that they would learn at least as much about our Lord as I have in the past week of preparation.)
In the breakout session, we’ll investigate what it means to abide in Christ. Consider Jesus’ words in John 15:4-5…
Abide in me, and I in you. 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. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus’ sobering message frightens me, but I desperately need this wake up call. For many of us as Christians, it can be tempting to rely on our own talents and abilities. We might even convince ourselves that God needs us to do His work. We can spend so much time working on the latest ministry techniques, reading the right books, or perpetually participating in activities or events. But in reality, as John 15 reminds us, we can do nothing apart from Christ.
Nothing.
In other words, anything done apart from Christ is worthless, empty, meaningless… nothing. Just like a branch dies when it is detached from the vine, we cannot live apart from our precious Jesus.
So, if we’re interpreting John 15 appropriately, abiding in Christ is most significant thing we’ll do all day! What does it mean to abide? As a starting point, abiding in Christ means to remain vitally connected to Christ. Dwell in Him. Live in Him. There’s even an emphasis here on continuing and persisting… never leaving. Do these words describe your daily relationship with Jesus?
Honestly, I think we’ll continue to learn about this concept until the day we see our Jesus face to face. But, as you reflect on John 15 today, meditate on how vital it is for us to continually experience the presence of God. After all, we have no other source of life!