“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.”[1]John 15:4
Jesus’ call to His disciples was to “come, follow me”. The call to do as He did. The Message version of John 15: 4 says “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. The NKJV says “Abide in me”. The word abide is ‘meno’ in Greek; it is translated “remain” or “stay” or “dwell”.
It matters where we abide, stay, dwell as it will determine the “fruit” of our lives.
John Mark Comer says, “if we are rooted in the infinite scroll of social media, it will form us … if we are rooted in the endless queues of our streaming platforms of choice, they will form us too”[2] (p. 38, 2024).
There is no doubt theses are places of distraction for us all that need to be addressed. However, as followers of the way we can find ourselves so busy with serving and doing for Him that we spiritually justify why we have no time to simply abide, stay, dwell in Him.
To stay, to dwell, to make your home, is to slow down, to be, sometimes simply to stop, restore, renew and refresh. This can be a scary place for many when the busyness, the doing, the events, the activities, the meetings, the people that need us, the lists and assignments are put aside so we can feel safe to simply “abide in Him”.
Brother Lawrence phrased it as “practicing the presence of God”. Let’s be honest, when we have a moment of space in our day, what are we thinking about? For most of us it is not Jesus, it is not abiding, dwelling in Him. It is a rhythm, a practice that He called us to do, “come follow me”, do as I do, make your home in me.
Like anything worthwhile and challenging it requires our attention and as John 15 says we cannot bear fruit without it. As a follower of the way, all I have longed to do is bear good fruit. Surely, I am not the only one who has learned the hard way that it is more about abiding in Him than working hard, ticking of my list and serving Him with every waking moment of each day.
To be “busy serving and doing for God” is no longer a valid excuse for not being able to stay, dwell and remain in Him. As 2025 begins to ramp up, consider your rhythm in how you seek to bear fruit for Him this year. I know I long to be more like Jesus.
“A good journey begins with Knowing where we are and being willing to go somewhere else”
Richard Rohr
[2] Comer, J.M “Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become like Him, Do as he did”, SPCK Group, London, 2024, p. 38.
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