Abiding in HimSample

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." - John 15:4 KJV

As I look at the text, I now begin to see that Jesus wants us to be ever conscious of our union with Him; He is in us and we are in Him, not for a while but for eternity. I suppose that we stray because our hearts lose consciousness of the knowledge that we are now one with Jesus. We are inseparably one with Him. This is the blessedness of the Gospel of Christ.

It is this consciousness of our union with Him that gives birth to blissful communion with Him. I know that Jesus is one with me on my bad days and good days. Nothing changes our union, therefore, I can go through life knowing that His victory is my victory; His wisdom is my wisdom; His Holiness is my holiness. It is our consciousness of this wonder that keeps our heart fixed on Him.

We understand that this text was in Jesus' discourse to his disciples at the close of supper on the night in which he was betrayed. He was giving them his final words. At the very core of this discourse, Jesus was telling them that they would face trials and hardships from the world, so he was urging them to abide in Him for strength. How wonderful it is to know that our perfect Lover has seen the evil days ahead and provided the strength we need to face it and be victorious. And his simple technology for our victory is to abide in Him. Holding fast to the consciousness that we are one with Him, we're assured that if the world did not overcome Him, it will not overcome us. If Jesus finished strong and well, we likewise shall finish well and strong.

In this our joy and confidence must lie. We ought not to think that we know what to do and how to go about life on our own. Our union with Him secures our victory. This becomes our experience as we put our faith in the fact that we are one with Him and He is carrying us all the way and through it all.