abide - This is how to live the "present" life - meditations on John 15

Abide.  

This is how to live a “present” life.

What does “abide” mean?  It is to dwell.  to remain. to stay in a place or position or state. 

But to abide must start with my thinking and beliefs.  

Here’s what I found with a thesaurus search of “ABIDE”:

comply with, obey, observe, follow, keep to, hold to, conform to, adhere to, stick to, stand by, act in accordance with, uphold, heed, accept, go along with, acknowledge, respect, defer to.

In my faith, if I don’t acknowledge God’s position in my life, how can I abide with Him?  How can I obey, comply, or conform to God unless I fully embrace, respect and believe in Who He is and who I am in relation to Him? 

One of the most powerful lessons Jesus teaches is about this idea of abiding and it’s in John 15.  This is where I’m camped for personal meditation.  There may be some study, but mostly this is what the Holy Spirit is whispering to me as I just meditate on these words, wait and listen.

Join me in this process?  

Here’s what I’m doing and I invite you to join me in this process:  

* 1st-   Read John 15:1-16 several times over the first few days.  No big push to learn anything from it, just become familiar with it’s overall message, flow and content.  Allow an image to begin to form in your mind of the picture Jesus is painting.  

A vineyard.  

- a vine which is the main “trunk” or “stalk” coming from the ground - (this is Jesus), 

- the branches growing from the vine - (this is me, this is you),

- the Vinedresser who has planted and cares for the vineyard (this is the Father),

- the fruit.

* 2nd -  Take 1-2 verses at a time and spend a day or 2 just on those verses.  Initially you can study the cross references or look up original language definitions or whatever you want, but mostly just spend time asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you specifically and then - wait.  Chew the words over and over drawing all the nourishment you can.  Allow the image to become 2 dimensional, then 3 dimensional, then let color wash in and shading and light and weight.  Consider yourself in this picture. Where you are.  What are you doing?  Search for God in this image.  Who is He? Where is He? What is He doing?  Let your imagination ponder these words and submitted to The Holy Spirit, allow this gift of imagination to add depth to the text.

• There is no pressured schedule or timeline to move through this passage.  I’ll post as God shows me things - maybe often, maybe not.  ABIDE in these words of Jesus and allow Him to speak to you on HIS schedule.  You just have to show up and ask.  

I truly would love to hear what He is showing YOU!  Please feel free to add your insights and applications to the comments here.

 

THIS is where you can read my first installment on this passage >