Abide
Merriam Webster defines abide as a verb meaning: to accept or bear, to stay or live somewhere, to remain or continue.
While
these three seem a little different in nature, they can all apply to
Jesus’ words in John 15:4 “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself unless if abides in the vine, so neither can
you unless you abide in me.”
What
does it mean for Jesus to abide in us? It means that Jesus accepts us,
exactly how we are with all of our faults and shortcomings, his
gracious love comes to us as a gift and an invitation. Jesus is present
in all of creation and so he is with us, here, today, in every place
that we find ourselves, in every interaction that we encounter, Jesus is
with us. Jesus does not leave us, even in our darkest times, even when
we turn away from him, Jesus abides, he accepts us, bears us and
continues to be present for us.
What
does it mean for us to Abide in Jesus? For us it can be more of a
challenge. To abide in Jesus means to give ourselves over to Jesus and
his plan and presence in our lives. Each day we have to accept Jesus as
our savior. We do this in the ways that we live our lives as
reflections of him. When our response to the love that we receive is to
turn that love toward others and to live in the way that God commands,
we are abiding in Christ. It is the sin that is present in the world
that can keep us from abiding in Jesus. Each day we have to actively
engage to abide in Jesus.
Lord,
we thank you for the gift of your Son who abides in each one of us even
in our sinful nature. As he abides in us, send your Spirit to guide us
and strengthen us to abide in him each day as we seek to participate in
your creative mission in the world. Amen.
Shared by Dawn Morello
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