Jennifer Blacklock Blog

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples”.

John 15:4-8

Abide- menō in the Greek- means to continue with, to wait, to dwell, to keep and be kept. It gives this idea of settling in, being at home with. When I’m at someone else’s house, no matter how close I am with them or how much they insist I make myself at home, it’s still not the same as being at my own house. When I’m at home, I don’t have to ask to heat up food or go lay down or explain that I’m going to tidy something up or go outside for some sunshine. I’m comfortable, at ease with my surroundings.

A commentary I read explained abiding with the questions, “are you comfortable around Jesus? Do you think He is comfortable with you?” Whew. That’s pretty convicting to me most days. Since I believe in Jesus as me Savior, He is with me, in me; is He comfortable there- with me, in me- today, and am I comfortable with Him? Am I abiding?

While Jesus was and is completely full of love and grace, He is in no way comfortable with sin. He called Himself a “doctor” to the sinners (see Luke 5); a doctor doesn’t leave a patient in the condition they’re in, their task is to restore. Jesus called people to “go and sin no more”, and He still does.

If I’m being stingy- whether with my love, time, or resources; if I’m complaining and grumbling; if I’m “just in a bad mood” or ruminating on all that’s wrong in my life or the world; if I’m irritable, snapping at those around me; or if I’m giving into other temptations, I can bet that I’m not abiding in the shepherd of my soul. Jesus and I are at odds, not quite comfortable.

On the other hand, if I am thinking of and putting others first; being generous with my time, energy, resources; humble before God, thanking Him for everything; smiling at all the tiny beautiful blessings throughout the day; being present in the moment, not worrying but casting my cares on Him; staying in constant prayer; meditating on the Word throughout the day; being gracious and loving with those around me, those are pretty good signs that He and I are at home with each other.

He says to abide in Him is to love Him, and that whoever loves Him will obey His commands, first of which was to love one another as He loves us.

So how do we do this? Jesus gave the answer. He said we can do nothing apart from Him and that if His words abide in us, we can ask what we desire and have it granted. So, first of all, if we try to “be good” on our own, we’re bound to fail, because “on our own” means apart from Him and apart from Him we can do nothing. But we don’t have to do it on our own, He gives us Himself and His word so we may know the will of God and ask for it and have it given to us. Is the will of God that all our problems will be gone? No. But, can I ask for God to grow a humble and gentle heart in me and expect Him to grant that? The Bible tells us that this is God’s will: “if possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with everyone” (Romans 12:18), “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2), “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Galatians 5:22).

Will we suddenly find it easy to keep from lashing out in anger, maybe not, but God will at least remind us and give us a chance to obey (and thus a chance to reshape our brain to be less likely to respond in anger next time), and we know that no temptation, even that of complaining or gossiping, is too great that we won’t be able to resist. He’ll give a way out. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13)

He calls us to lose ourselves so we can find true life in Him (Matthew 16:25). We continually must leave our fleshly self and cling to the new life found in him. We must choose, minute by minute sometimes, to walk by faith as we abide in Him.

And of course, when we do slip up and “leave home, He’s always there as the Loving Father to welcome us back, restore us, and complete the good work He has for us to do (Philippians 1:6).