When Jesus used the illustration of the grape vine and its branches (John 15:1-4), He was teaching on the concept of abiding. That’s one extremely loaded old school word. In short, Jesus implied a twofold request that His disciples were to move forward in union with Him. This has been my balm the last two months. It is how I have survived when a grotesquely inhuman amount of stressors fell all together. Like Jeffrey from The Big Lebowski said repeatedly throughout the film, I too can successfully say, “The Dude abides.” Here is a little insight into how I worked it:
– I prayed, “Lord, give me strength”, as I worked on my house… exhausted
– I asked Jesus to help me be attentive at parties when I’d rather be napping
– I invited God to guide my thoughts when making decisions I wanted to avoid
– I pictured Jesus struggling to walk the Via Dolorosa to the cross (for me)
– I asked the Holy Spirit to gift me w/deep sleep when my hours were few
– I cried about deaths but asked for strength when sharing about them
– I sometimes let down w/close Christians so as to share the pressure
– on occasion I just sat there doing nothing… hoping the Lord would hold me
– I received interest, encouragement and prayers via calls/texts from friends
All in all none of it was remarkable or exceptional, but collectively— Wow! The collective effect of my many meager efforts added up to some quality abiding. In essence, this is why we read devotionals, participate in church, listen to Christian music, pray when we’re not stressed, and share in Emmaus. Abide on.
From My Heart,
Jeff