John 15:1-4 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 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. Abide is an interesting old English word, used many times in the King James Bible. It means “await,” “remain,” “lodge,” “sojourn,” “dwell,” “continue,” “endure.” It is used 12 times in the Old Testament Hebrew and a like amount in the New Testament. Personally to me, it has a feeling as well as a sound to the word that indicates much and promises much.
Abide first allows me to stop striving for things. It give a feeling of being content with what one hasm instead of trying to wrestle for things that do not satisfy. Our world thrives in the “dog eat dog” style of business. It is ruthlessly, acquisitive, and competitive. It is a world where we fight for scraps like they were steaks. It is a constant struggle…yet we are told to abide.
Abide is a promise as well as a command. Abide, wait, until I return, Jesus implied. For me, that takes the struggle out of life. We do not need to struggle to simply wait for His return. We do not need to fight to continue in life until He returns. We are spoken of as pilgrims in Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
Abide, does not need things, toys, entertainment, to do well. Our text is about Jesus being the Vine and we are the branches. It talks of bearing fruit. It does speak of work, but not chaos. Maybe I’m just to old to understand what drives men to compete, to bite, dig and scratch for a living or maybe they are being driven by some other force that needs to defeat others, to win at every turn of life. The term abide takes that wind out of that sail.
Abiding, waiting, can be done without strife. Living as a branch of the Vine looks to us producing fruit, yet the Vine provides all that we need. The Vine is our supply line. It takes nutrients from the soil and moisture of the rain and sends it along to the branches. The branches cannot produce it own nutrients. It is unable to do more than to receive sunshine upon it leaves. It cannot survive without the Vine’s supplying it with necessary things. It is satisfied with what the Vine provides.
Abide, continue, endure, to me is to allow God to be God; Jesus to be Jesus. They supply; we consume and (hopefully) produce fruit. That is what is required for continued existence. Inside the fruit is the seeds for the next generations that will follow. Good fruit brings forth good seeds and provides good, healthy plants to continue the cycle of life.
Jesus uses farming as examples throughout His parables. He uses farming for two reasons. First, all people of the times in which Jesus lived understood the fundimentals of farming. The food on their table came directly from the surrounding farms. It was extremely hard to import or export anything in this age.
Secondly, it presents to us a great truth. We can prepare the soil. We can remove every weed. We can apply fertilizer. We plant seed, but it is only God who awakens the life in the seed so that it begins to grow.
Seed can be stored for many years. It is dormant, it simply waits for the necessary conditions to grow. God places the life in the seed. God stirs the life in the seed when all the right conditions are achieved. Otherwise the seed simply abides. It waits for soil, moisture and temperature to be right, then the life inside of it grows.
Abide in me, Jesus tells us. Are we listening?
