Remain

Night falls, and in the quiet, the thoughts come: “What did I do today that matters? Could I have done something differently in that situation? If this was my last day on earth, would I be happy with the way I spent it?” But how do we know if what we did matters? As children of God, what we really need to know is what matters to Him. In John 15, Jesus has just comforted His disciples and promised the Holy Spirit. Now, He tells them to remain in Him (verse 4-7). Jesus gives us a beautiful word picture: He is the vine and we, His followers, are the branches. If we remain in Him, our lives will bear good fruit. But we cannot be fruitful on our own; we need to be connected to the vine. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing truly worthwhile (verse 5). So, what does it look like to remain in Jesus? A good place to start is reflecting on His Word (verse 7) and remembering His commands (verse 10), the greatest of which are to love God with all we are and to love one another (verse 17). Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (verse 11). This joy He invites us into is not dependent on our feelings, our circumstances, our accomplishments, or our failures. Rather, His joy is rooted in the unchanging character and unfailing love of God. The author of 1 John 2:24-28 is the same disciple who recorded Jesus’s words about the vine and the branches. John uses the word remain four times, and he urges God’s children to “continue in him” as we wait for Jesus to return (verse 28). When we live our lives in connection with God, seeking Him and engaging in community with fellow Christians, we can be confident that God will guide and bless our actions. When we are walking with Jesus, we get to do things that matter. And when we mess up, God invites us to come to Him. The Holy Spirit will help us repent from any sin. We can rest in Jesus’s sure forgiveness because His death has paid for all our wrongdoing. Jesus calls us to remain in His love, and from this place of connection with God, to love others. • Savannah Coleman • If the main goal in any situation is to remain in loving connection with God and to love others, how might this affect the way we live? • In moments when we’ve fallen short or failed, how can we come to God and rest in His love? “Remain in me, as I [Jesus] also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Matthew 22:36-Matthew 22:40; John 15:1-John 15:17; 1 John 2:24-1 John 2:29