Before we start, what does it mean to abide?
Abide: to be at home, to stay in vital union with the Lord.
Webster’s definition: to act in accordance with
Let’s dig in to this whole “abide” thing a little deeper.
What should our lives look like if we are abiding in the Lord?
Abiding in Christ is
* abounding in life.
*not hiding Him in your heart, but it’s inviting him into every part of your life - the public and the private.
*being productive for God.
*giving Him every day and every season. It’s giving Him your time, relationships, words, thoughts, gifts, joys, hardships, and everything else that is a part of your life.
*abounding with fruit.
*bringing the love and joy of Jesus Christ to the people around you.
*loving like Christ.
* resembling the character qualities of Christ.
*making God honoring decisions.
Take a romantic relationship for example. When you abide in that relationship, you start to become more like that other person. The same should happen when we abide in Christ.
But why must we abide in Christ? Why can’t we abide in whatever we want?
Because there is no power if we abide in anything else.
You can’t plug a power strip into itself and expect it to have power!
Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves,
“What are we abiding in?”
And if you don’t really know how to answer that question, then ask
“Where do I go for comfort? Significance? Understanding?”
John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
Abiding in Christ is not a “one and done” thing though.
When we choose to abide in God, he is going to prune us and pick away at us.
Prune : trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.
God prunes what would be a loss to keep and a gain to lose.
The branch that is pruned bears more fruit and productivity, and bearing fruit means carrying on God’s gospel mission. The more residence you give Christ in your life, the more fruit you are going to produce.
If we say we are Christians, but we don’t bear fruit or represent Christ, the world isn’t going to buy it.
Our reward for being fruitful is bringing glory to the father by showing the world that we belong to Christ.
Being pruned is sometimes difficult. In fact, most of the time it is difficult. God often prunes things we don’t want to let go of.
But as Corrie Ten Boom said, “Hold everything in your hand lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open."
When we abide in Christ and allow Him to prune us, our life will be aligned with His will. There’s no better reward than this!
