$h!t Jesus Says Part Eleven: Abide

Just as the life of a branch is sustained by its connection to the vine, this story reminds us that our lives are sustained by remaining in a close relationship with Christ.

As the dust settles from the political conventions and Americans prepare to cast their votes, is it safe to say most of us already had our minds made up before the speeches and arguments began?
 
I wonder if it’s because we know what we want and who we can count on to deliver it?

Or because we're overwhelmed by the sheer number of decisions life already demands of us that we just pick one side or the other and be done with it?
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Let's face it, we have too many choices to make from what to wear, what to eat, which way to go to work to avoid traffic. Who to vote for is just another and what to vote for are just a few more things we have to add to the already long list. (Thank you, however, for making the choice to read beyond this sentence.)

As if choosing all this stuff wasn’t difficult enough, knowing each one of our choices we make will inevitably produce either a positive or negative result which, as you might already know, can overwhelm our wellbeing. Katie Hines-Shah reminds us, “Before we make such choices, we would do well to hear the call of the gospel.”

​This is sage advice, considering Jesus always says some pretty good shit to guide us down the right path. (Read all ofJohn 15:1-11 here) 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you.... I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.... My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love... I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.                   - John 15:1-11

Before we go any further, I am curious if you have ever heard of The Unyielding Oak?

It is a massive, ancient oak tree in the English countryside that has weathered centuries of storms, droughts, and temperature changes. From thundering tempest to battles and bombs, whatever this tree has faced, it still continues to bear acorns year after year.
 
I think if Jesus saw that tree, he would marvel at its strength and admire its endurance saying, “Your faith needs to be like this oak whose unyielding strength doesn’t come from avoiding storms but because its roots are deeply embedded in the earth. Just as this tree abides in the soil, drawing nutrients from deep below the surface, so too must you abide in me. And when you abide in me and I in you, then you will be able to stand strong no matter what storms come your way.”
 
This is the gist of what Jesus is talking about when he walks past a vineyard and says, "I am the vine; you are the branches."

He wants his disciples to know that they’re all part of the same living organism whose roots are deeply embedded in God’s heart. Which tells me whether you’re a leaf, branch or tendril, everything attached to this vine is nourished by God’s love to produce the fruit of God’s kingdom.
 
So, Jesus tells his followers, “Abide in me.” Which, in both the Hebrew and Greek, is defined as a dwelling or setting, a physical place one sets up permanent residency. It’s like Jesus is saying, “Make your home in me. And together we can share God’s heart.” 
 
As I have been saying throughout this series, Jesus is all about transforming the way we see ourselves in relationship with God and one another. This relationship begins in the heart where part of the transformation process includes letting go of the stuff that doesn’t grow or strengthen the relationship.
 
In this lesson, Jesus gives us an image of God as an attentive gardener, carefully snipping away the parts of us that aren’t producing anything good. While this pruning process can be painful, the sharp pinch of the shears and the heat of the fire are necessary for growth. We all have to go through the pruning process. Not even Jesus got out of it (John 15:2).

Like I have learned with our apple and avocado trees, a branch that is properly pruned will go on to bear more fruit.
 
Moreover, God transforms the compost that is pruned, turning worthless branches into lights that guide and heat that keeps us warm. Even its ash is used to enrich the soil and contributes to new growth! Nothing is wasted in God's kingdom.

In the same way God transformed the wood of the cross into the instrument of salvation, God also transforms the worst of us into something good. That’s what being in a relationship with God is all about…being made new again.
 
Now, you may have noticed Jesus doesn’t just say, “Abide in me…” He says, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” Through him, God has already made the first move to be with us, to redeem and transform us. Now Jesus is inviting you and me to make a choice to reciprocate, to attach our lives to his life and draw from God’s abundance.​

At the last advertising agency I worked for, we had a wine client who taught me all sorts of interesting facts about grapes.

For example, not only is the quality of grape influenced by the soil, climate, and the amount of stress the vine endures, but the best-tasting fruit are the ones produced closest to the central vine where the nutrients are most concentrated.

Just as the life of a branch is sustained by its connection to the vine, our lives are sustained by remaining in a close relationship with Christ.
 
When we abide in Jesus, we begin to mimic his way of life, and draw from his spiritual riches. When we abide in his heart, we begin to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit which Paul lists as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Of course, Jesus boils it all down to this, “Just as God has loved me, so I have loved you…Go and abide in my love.” And you know the kind of shit Jesus says about love, right?
 
He tells us to not only love God but love your neighbor like you love yourself. (Notice he says love yourself, too.)

He says love those who despise you. Love anyone who want to hurt you. Love each other, unconditionally and liberally, like God first loved you.  (I think he would also say, "Love cats, dogs, poetry, music, surfing and all the millions of other things that make life wonderful)

Jesus even shows us what love looks like put into practice and how used as a way bridge divides and unite people together. And how to make it our go to thing in meeting and treating others.
 
With his roots deeply embedded in God’s heart, Jesus’ love feeds us, heals us, and empowers us to go out into Anamesa to make love blossom and grow in every space we enter.

​While conventional wisdom says look out for yourself, take what you can get Jesus says, “Love one another,” and “you will get in return the measure you give.”
 
As they walk through the vineyard towards the garden where he will be arrested Jesus tells his friends, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” When we choose to love God, love others and serve both with a loving heart, Jesus tells us, “Your joy will be complete.”
 
This is ultimately what God wants to give us, a life of love and joy. The kind of joy that gives us strength and hope in the face of adversity.

Knowing what the Apostles will face when he’s gone, Jesus appoints his followers to go bear the fruit of God’s kingdom in all the ways “that you love one another.”
 
The consequences of choosing love, will result in “fruit that will last.” Same is true for us. Our choice to abide in God’s love has everlasting consequences.
 
While we have spent a good deal of time looking at many different things Jesus says there’s one more thing I wish to point out. A few verses later in John’s gospel Jesus says, “Everything I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

Jesus has kept nothing from us. Not only has he revealed the kingdom of heaven to us but has also invited us to participate in it. His good news needs to be shared. Like he states in another parable about a vineyard, Jesus says, “the harvest is plentiful but there workers are few”(Matthew 9:37). 

Abiding in Jesus isn't just about hanging out with him on the couch and binge watching Ozark together. We got to show up for him too, living out his love and making a difference in the world.
 
Every choice we make matters. We can choose to be kind and compassionate, or selfish and angry. We can create fear and division or bring people together. We can add to the darkness, or shine Christ's light to chase it away.

We can live like Jesus, showing kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Or we can do nothing and miss out on all the good stuff Jesus has to offer.
 
As we contemplate our choice, let us remember God will make a choice too. One that depends on whether or not we chose to abide in the one who says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…for what you did to the least of these, you did also to me” (Matthew 25:34, 40)
 
May we all choose wisely.
 
 
 
Work Cited:
Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word, Year B Vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008.
Montes, Luz Cabrera. How to Love. (accessed May 1, 2021).
Hines-Shah, Katie. Choosing to Abide. christiancentury.org August 19, 2024 (accessed on August 23, 2024).