Abide

I am not always one to have a “word of the year” when a new year begins, but I was encouraged by members of my praying mom’s group to find a verse of the year to pray over for each of my kids, my husband, and a verse for myself.

When I was trying to think of a verse for me, the word “abide” kept coming to my mind like a soft, consistent whisper and led me to choose John 15:4. The verse says, “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.” I had no idea when I selected John 15:4 as my verse for the year that the Lord would lead me to the position of Student Ministry Associate. In fact, when Seth approached me about the position, I promptly told him he was crazy and that I am just a mom, with no qualifications for this role. The funny thing about John 15, though, is that the command is not to bear fruit. The command is to remain. We bear fruit only when we are connected to the True Vine. It is not about us or what we can do for the Kingdom but simply being a branch that has the privilege of bearing His fruit. The Holy Spirit is the fruit producer; we just get to be attached to the producer and fruit is displayed from that.

The theme of abide keeps coming up. It has led me to look at what Jesus means in John 15 when he calls believers to abide in Him. What I have taken it to mean in the past is what I can bring to the Lord so I can be accepted. What tasks can I perform to make me look better? What Bible study can I lead, event I can attend, church event I can help with that really makes me appear like I am abiding? But the action here is not performative; the call is to REMAIN in Jesus. Drawing close to the Father is not about what I can do, it is that He is the source of life, He is the living water, He is the hope. To dwell in Him is letting Him be my portion, my identity, my purpose.

While we were on Jr/Sr trip this last week, our wonderful intern, Rose, gave her testimony and it led to such a great conversation where we discussed – how do we abide in Jesus? The answer I really needed to hear was to read your Bible and pray every day. I know it seems so simple, but sometimes it’s the simplest things we forget/dismiss, isn’t it? I don’t want to get so caught up in the “big ideas” that I forget the most important and that is to remain in my Lord. For me, that means to come to Him and His Word daily and to be in constant conversation with Him to fill me up. I cannot bear fruit without being connected to the True Vine. I want my eyes to be focused on the command of remaining in the Lord above all else. Only then does the fruit come.

“I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple” Psalm 27:4.