John 15:4 (NIV)
4 Remain in me, and I will 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.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984
The concept of 'remaining' in Christ is a difficult thought for many people yet as this verse reveals, it is critical. I believe there are two challenges we face with respect to 'remaining' in Christ.
The first challenge is one of perception. Unless we perceive a connection, our weaknesses lead us to believe the connection is lost and that we have been detached from the tree of life. Yet we know that we will all go through various 'cycles' where we feel close and connected as well as when we feel distant and disconnected. These are nothing more than passing 'feelings' and we need only continue in the disciplines of the faith till such time as the 'feeling' passes.
The second challenge is one of reality. Isaiah 59:2 teaches us that "your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sin has hidden his face from you..." So the reality is that when we sin, we drive a wedge between the branch (us) and the vine (Christ). 1 John 1:9 teaches us that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." In this manner, the wedge is removed, the wound is healed and the connection is restored. But if we harbor unconfessed sin in our life, the wedge remains, the wound festers and the connection is compromised. I don't mean to imply that salvation is lost but our ability to 'perceive' the connection is impaired and our ability to produce fruit in His name is sacrificed.
To remain in Christ means that we must continually confess our sins, continually receive His forgiveness and continually remain in a state of renewal or sanctification. This process is enabled by our studying, learning and applying his commands in our daily life. We remain in Christ by loving him. We love Christ by keeping his commandments. In this manner, the connection of the branch to the vine is made apparent in the spirit of John 14:21 which teaches "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." Our awareness of our connection to Christ is a function of His response to the love we have for Him.
If I were to walk through the orchard of your life, would I have to step carefully over all the fruit that has fallen to the ground? Would I have to duck repeatedly so as not to run into the abundant fruit hanging from the branches? Or would I have to look at the leaves of the tree to even know what type of tree it is since there is no fruit?
My challenge to you today then is to measure your harvest for Christ. If your bushel baskets overflow, sing praise. If your baskets are empty then examine the connection between the branch and the vine. Give attention to nurturing the grafting site so that the rich nutrients of Christ may flow into your branch and you may produce fruit in His name.
Peace,
Carl
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1 comment:
Powerful stuff ... and I was getting a bit concerned that you had been away from blogging your journaling for 10 days or so.
Part of "remaining" (I prefer the concept of "abiding") in Christ has to do with the depth of that relationship. If it goes deep, God dwells (i.e., abides) deeply in our consciousness; and His preseence becomes power in our planning, decision-making, and actions. However, if our relationship is surface, it is much more subject to the world, Satan, and our own selfish desires (i.e., the flesh).
So, how do we deepen the abiding (ie., remaining) presence of Christ in our lives? We go deep in doing what it takes to make God, the Holy Spirit welcome in our lives. We spend time with Him. We share openly with Him. And as you say we trust Him with all our soul by confessing to Him when He - through conviction - reveals how we make Him feel unwanted with our sin.
God will do deeping in His abiding love for us if we go deep by our abiding love for Him. And we show that love by being obedient and by our trust in His truth (see John 14: 21). And as that verse implies, our Lord will abide with us when we show our love for Him.
Thanks, Carl, for posting this provocative blog; and I hope that you'll not stay away all that long again ... Bill
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