“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:4
May 30, 2023
What must it have felt like to know the next day you would be landing on a Normandy beach (think of D-Day, June 6, 1944). Death was imminent for many young men. Think back to the upper room where Jesus had His disciples gathered about Him. He knew that His death was about to occur within a few hours. Jesus gave His men comfort, answered their questions, and explained the relationship of His disciples to Him (Jn. 14:1-15:11). If we are one of Christ’s disciples, we are virtually in that room. There is a kind of life that we, who are joined to Christ, are to live. It is to be a productive one. Fruit bearing is what Jesus calls it. For this to happen we are to abide in Him. The way to abide in Christ is to obey Him (Jn. 15:10; 1 Jn. 3:24). This insures that the life of the vine can flow through us, the branches. The wonder of it all is that abiding in Christ is the divinely intended everyday experience of the enjoyment of eternal life in these physical bodies. The Christian life is not merely imitating Christ. As one example of the fruit of the Spirit, is kindness. Am I learning to put myself in other people’s shoes and say or do what is helpful to them? When was the last time a kind word landed gently on your soul as an encouragement?
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“O Lord of grace, may the kindness of Jesus flow into and through my life. Teach me how to be more thoughtful of others.”