Unburdened by Vance PitmanSample

Abide

The word abide is designed to help you remember that following Jesus is first and foremost about your relationship with Him. It’s about that wonderful, intimate fellowship between you and your Savior. And if you think that sounds kind of simple, you’re right! 

Look at John 14:15: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus repeated that truth over and over in this chapter. For example, here’s what He said in verse 21: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

In that verse, Jesus made a promise to “disclose” Himself. The word disclose means to make known. So the more I pursue Christ, the more He makes Himself known to me. And the more Christ makes Himself known to me, the more I love Him. And the more I love Him, the more obedience spills out of my life because of His grace.

Do you see how this just makes sense? This is exactly how Jesus intended for us to grow as His followers. Not by obeying first, but by first seeking Him and allowing Him to produce obedience through us.

Then Jesus added another layer in verse 23: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.’”

Here we have this progression again. When we love God and pursue Him, He not only produces obedience through us but blesses us with His presence. He makes His “abode” with us— His home. This verse is describing someone saturated with God’s presence.

Another way to describe this is intimacy with God. Have you ever been around someone and just sensed the presence of God all over them? That’s the level of relationship Jesus was describing in these verses. It’s not that those people participate in more spiritual activity or have more biblical knowledge; those aren’t key. Those who experience intimacy with God consistently practice being with Jesus. And God promises that, when He finds someone who consistently practices being with Christ, He’ll manifest His presence all over their life.

The outcome of abiding in Christ is experiencing intimacy with God. And that’s the ultimate rejection of religion.

In what way does abiding in Christ transform your understanding of the Christian life?