Abiding in Christ

Jesus used one of the simplest and most powerful illustrations in Scripture to explain how transformation happens. A vine. He said:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Think about a branch. A branch does not struggle to manufacture grapes. It does not attend a seminar on fruit production. It does not become frustrated because it is not producing enough fruit. It simply remains connected to the vine. The life of the vine flows into the branch, and fruit appears. This is the secret of Christian character. Abiding.

What does it mean to abide?

To abide means to remain. To stay. To continue. To live in relationship with Christ. It means that Christ is not merely someone we visit on a Sabbath, a Sunday or at church. He becomes the centre of everyday life. We bring our decisions to Him. Our relationships. Our temptations. Our fears. Our ambitions. Our money. Our work. Our family. Our private thoughts. Our weaknesses and our failures. Everything. The Christian does not merely ask, “What does Jesus want me to do?” The deeper question becomes, “Jesus, what do You want to do through me?”

Jesus goes on to explain what abiding involves. His words abide in us (John 15:7). We keep His commandments, and so we remain in His love, “just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). And He tells us why He says these things: “that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Abiding is not a burden. It is the way to joy.

Enoch: a man who walked with God

Scripture gives us a very short biography of a man who abided. Enoch lived in a world that was filling up with violence, and the entire account of his life is summarised in a few words:

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Hebrews adds what God thought of him: “before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch’s character was formed by years of walking with God, and at the end of his life he was taken to be with the One he had walked with. He took nothing with him that could be counted on a balance sheet. He took a relationship, and the character that grew out of it.

Moses: changed without knowing

Moses spent forty days on Sinai with God. When he came down, something had happened to him that he could not see:

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai … that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

Moses did not know. Other people saw it. That is how transformation usually happens. We rarely see it in ourselves. Those who spend time in the presence of God are changed, and others notice before we do.

Mary and Martha: the one thing needed

Abiding requires that we stop. Martha was busy serving, and she was “worried and troubled about many things.” Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His word. Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help, and Jesus answered:

Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.

Jesus did not criticise Martha’s service. He pointed to what Mary was doing as the thing that could not be taken away. This is a stark thought for a book about what we take with us. Busy service may be taken away. Time with Christ shapes a person who will not be.

The fruit belongs to the vine

Jesus does not say, “Try harder to produce fruit.” He says, “Abide in Me.” The fruit is the evidence of the connection. Paul calls this fruit love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Notice something important. These qualities are not merely rules. They are characteristics. This is character, and the Bible calls it the fruit of the Spirit.

We do not produce the fruit alone

There is a difference between imitation and transformation. I can imitate patience for a few hours. I can force myself to speak politely. I can smile when I am angry. I can control my words. But eventually pressure exposes what is inside. The Spirit goes deeper. He changes the heart. A person who once exploded in anger may eventually discover that the anger itself is losing its control. A person who could not forgive may begin to find compassion. A person consumed by recognition may become content to serve quietly. A person controlled by selfishness may begin to think naturally about the needs of others. That is not merely behaviour modification. That is transformation.