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“Remain in me, as I 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  

The above verse is one of those passages in Scripture that I could read over and over, yet never feel as if I’ve really grasped its meaning.  

“Remain in me,” says Jesus.  But Lord, what does that look like?  How do I do that?  What does it mean to ‘remain in you’?  I can understand the need to remain thinking about You, to remain pondering over Your sacrifice, to remain focused on You as my hope and remain busy doing things for You.  

But ‘in’?  How do I remain ‘in’?   

During this season, we’ve had to do a lot of remaining ‘in’, but not so much with our Lord.  We’ve had to remain in our homes; we’ve had to remain in a form of lockdown; we’ve had to remain in isolation or quarantine; we’ve had to remain in our masks and in fear and anxiety over an air-born enemy.  

Perhaps, then, it is fitting for the words of Jesus to speak anew over us in this time.  It’s as if Jesus is saying to us, “Stop focusing so much on the material things in which you need to remain.  Remain, rather, in me.”  

Another way to phrase this is to ‘dwell’ or ‘abide.’  Recently I saw a church that was offering a worship service called, “Dwell,” and I immediately knew what the intent was for that evening.  The desire is to dwell ‘in’ Jesus.   

Is that where our daily focus is?  Certainly there are disciplines that we employ—such as Scripture reading and morning prayer—that enable us to abide in Christ.  But Jesus doesn’t seem to give any indication that this is simply a morning routine, or that our abiding is only something we do when it’s convenient.  

Rather, He compared it to His own abiding in us: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  We would never say that Jesus only remains in us at certain times of the day, or when we choose to allow Him to do so.  We would never claim that Jesus is as flighty as us when it comes to being present and attentive.  

Our call, then, is to remain in Jesus as He is remaining in us.  He has never left us.  He has never gotten upset with us and purposefully stopped paying attention to us.  He’s never complained that life is too difficult and therefore has vacated the premises until things perk up a little.  

He remains within us, whether we notice Him or not.   

And the voice of His ongoing presence within us—that niggling-yet-calming voice that’s always trying to get our attention—continues to poke and prod us in different ways in order that we may bear the fruit of the vine.   

As John put it, we simply cannot bear the fruit of the gospel of Jesus Christ if we are not abiding in Him—if we are not allowing ourselves to be nourished and fed by Him.  

He is the vine.  How connected are you as a branch?  Are you grafted in and nourished?  Weak and swaying in the wind?  Cracked and fearsome of falling?  Almost broken off and hanging by a thread?   

How might you need to ‘remain in’ Jesus?  Because His desire is to be as closely connected to us as He possibly can.  As a fellow pastor once said, “You can’t get much closer than ‘in.’”  That’s how much Jesus desires and delights in you.   

I’m reminded of a poem I came across recently by Alistair Maclean, and I hope that this may be a prayer for you today:  

Even though the day be laden
and my task dreary
and my strength small,
a song keeps singing
in my heart.
For I know that I am Thine.
I am part of Thee.
Thou art kin to me,
and all my times
are in Thy hand.    


Prayer: 
Living God, I ask boldly and courageously that you would help me to abide in You today.  Grant me—by Your Holy Spirit—the ability to dwell and remain in You, no matter what struggles or circumstances come at me.  Help me to be aware of Your never-failing Presence within me.  And may that knowledge bring a peaceful calmness to my spirit and put a song in my heart.  In Your precious name, amen.  

Song: Abide With Me - Audrey Assad