“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
— John 15:7
I have been studying Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray, in which he teaches about what it means to abide in Jesus. It is not abiding partly in ourselves and partly in Jesus. It is learning to listen to the inner nudges He gives, pour out praise and love on Him, and walk by His commands. Then His life flows freely through us out to the world around us.
The picture I received was of the vine. (Jesus) John 15:1-8 and the branches (the believer) The vine is very healthy and completely able to sustain the branches. When the branches stay firmly attached to the vine then there is healthy fruit. Sometimes a branch decides to disregard some of the more difficult commands in the Bible and they start to go their own way. l this causes them to partly detach from the vine. They bend over and droop. Then the life of the vine does not freely flow through the branch and the fruit rots and falls to the ground. The branch loses its power to fully sustain a vibrant life abiding in the vine.
The joys of staying fully attached to the vine certainly outweigh abiding in ourselves and going our own way. Having this picture in my mind has helped me to discern when I am trying to abide in myself and not the vine.
© Peggy Park
