Theme of the Week: Abiding in Christ
Bible Verse: As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:9-10 NKJV
Scripture Reading: John 15:9-11; Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 4:17-21
If you’re like me, you’ve likely had the experience of going to the refrigerator to get a piece of fruit – an apple, orange, or grapes – but instead of fresh fruit, your hand found a gross, decaying mess. The reality is, the moment fruit is disconnected from the plant, it begins to decay.
Jesus uses an agricultural analogy of a vine and branches to make another point about connection. When the branch is disconnected, it dies. In his illustration, he is the vine, and we are the branches. Just as natural disconnection leads to decay, so does spiritual disconnection lead to spiritual decay and eventually death.
The solution? Stay connected to Jesus. How? By abiding or remaining in his love.
This love is not just an emotional state or warm, fuzzy feeling. This is love so intimate it is based in the Trinitarian relationship of the Father to the Son. This is a love so intense that it led Jesus to a horrific death on a cross. This is a love so intentional that even a grave could not contain its power.
The apostle John put it like this: “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10 NLT)
This love is not contingent on our own moral goodness. This is a love that is not reliant on our good deeds. This is a love that remains strong no matter our failures or sin. This is a love that never changes, never fails, and never disconnects from us. Jesus invites us to simply abide in the reality of his abiding love. How incredible is that!
So this day, rest in his love for you no matter how unworthy you might feel. Respond to his love with a grateful heart. Return his love to the people in your world. That is abiding in his love!
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