Living the Jesus Wayনমুনা

In John 8 (NIV) Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

Other translations say, ‘remain faithful’, ‘if you stick with this’, and ‘if you abide in my word’.

Jesus is saying here you aren’t just meant to understand His teaching, but to do and be His teaching.

We don’t read the Bible to just learn the Bible, we read the Bible to receive instruction.

Scripture is a step-by-step instruction manual that we put into practice.

Imagine you bought a Lego set and it only came with the box and the instruction manual. Would you settle for just looking at what you could have built if the pieces were included, or would you be annoyed that you weren’t able to take part in the fun of building?

Would you be satisfied by just watching YouTube tutorials of other people building that set, or listening to podcasts from other enthusiasts on how much fun they had making their creation?

No, you would go back to where your Lego set was purchased and request they provide the set in full.

So why would you as a child of God settle for reading the instruction manual and watching other people put their sets together?

Your pieces have been purchased by Jesus. He says, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

We are to abide in His teaching, to hold tight to His teaching, to stick to His teaching, not just know about it. To do what He asks us to do.

As you complete today’s readings on just a few things Jesus is asking us to do in scripture, take the time to reflect on how you can best live the Jesus way and what may need to change as you put into practice abiding in His teaching in your life.