What Does It Mean To Abide?

As a fruit tree is intended to bear fruit so a Christian is intended to produce certain things in life. Such spiritual qualities are likened to “fruit.” The branch can’t produce fruit unless it is connected to a vine. Simple, isn’t it?

Jesus likens our relationship to Him to that of a branch to a vine. He said the branch must “abide” in Him.  Abide translates the Greek word “meno.” It is translated by eight different English words in the New Testament: abide, be present, continue, dwell, endure, remain, stand, and tarry.

John 15: 7 gives a sign that we are abiding in Him. It is that His words “abide in” us. That calls for more than intellectual ascent, it requires obedience.

The issue is obedience. A recent “Gallup Poll” showed Americans are “impressively religious.” The poll probed beneath the surface of that fact. It further showed that 3 out of 4 “Do not connect religion with their judgment of right and wrong.”

If you think you are saved, but you aren’t interested in obedience, you had better check your ticket.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” (James 2:14). It is the kind of faith that works. Loving God is more than emotional goosebumps; it is a commitment to selfless love resulting in obedience.

Do you love the Lord enough to obey Him?

Don’t throw God a bone unless it has the meat of obedience on it.

Emotional highs are refreshing. However, it doesn’t matter how high you jump when you shout. What counts is how straight you walk when you hit the ground. Christ is looking for consistency.

Would you be pleased with a refrigerator that works six days a week, but won’t run on the other?

What would your boss think if you missed work a few days each month?

What must our Lord think when we act equally as sporadic in our spiritual lives?

Psalm 37: 4, 5 portrays what happens when we obey God:

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”