Where Do You Live?
From the inception of this blog almost two years ago now, my desire has been to encourage, challenge, build up and grow the body of Christ so we develop and blossom into a thriving force that wages strategic and effective war against the powers of darkness.
The gospel life is one that can be very difficult, yet at the same time elementary in nature. I have stated before, we as a human race, can take the simplest of concepts, place our hands and opinions on it, and birth something incredibly complex and almost impossible to follow. Case in point- taxes. Need I say more?
Over the centuries, since Christ’s ascension back into heaven, we continue to muddy the waters of the well that never runs dry. All the striving. Works based faith ideology. The endless struggle to believe the free gift of salvation is truly free.
We have become like the Pharisees and Sadducess. The Jewish, religious leaders who continued to add more and more laws to the original ten given by God to Moses. The weight of expectation crushing the people and causing a feeling of hopelessness. They could never “do enough” to satisfy the system. Some of you may feel this same burden today.
Let me help relieve some pressure, if this is your current thought process regarding following Christ Jesus. You are COMPLETELY correct. You can never “do enough”, but praise God, He sent someone who could.
This is the reason Jesus came. Because He and He alone is enough. He is so much of enough, His enoughness spills over and covers us too. (Yes- I just made up a word, but it works- right?)
One way we can enjoy this complete covering, is by making sure we are living in the correct place. I’m not talking about your zip code, but I am talking about where you spend your time, energy and resources.
In John chapter 15, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and giving clear direction for living a life of rich joy and a sense of peace. Beginning in verse one we read:
“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” (John 15: 1-11 *emphasis added)
I’m not sure about you, but I feel like Jesus may have been trying to tell us something. When a word or concept is repeated in scripture, we should always stop and pay attention, asking ourselves the deeper meaning. So, let’s look at the “abide”.
Here is the Webster’s dictionary definition:
a. to bear patiently: tolerate
b. to endure without yielding: withstand
c. to wait for: await
d. to accept without objection
e. to remain stable or fixed in a state
f. to continue in a place
I personally like the second definition, to endure without yielding: withstand. This life will certainly give us struggles, but when we are found living in Christ Jesus, He gives us the strength to withstand and makes us unmovable.
When we choose to abide and live our entire life for Christ, we are choosing total surrender. This word He used ten times within 11 verses, is meant to invoke a sense of complete dependence on Jesus Christ alone for every area of your life.
I heard a pastor say one time, “Christ is not the thing you place at the top of your life list. He is the paper you write your list on.” Every aspect of your daily coming and going should look like, act like, sound like and even smell like Jesus. He should be the driving force behind your every decision.
Too often I see those we profess the name of Christ on Sunday, living a very different lifestyle Monday through Saturday. If Jesus is not Lord of your life every day of the week, He is not Lord of your life at all.
Let’s look at it from another view. Say you have decided to buy a home and have selected the perfect place to raise your family. It has all the best school districts for your kiddos, wonderful neighbors and even cuts your work commute time in half. When Friday rolls around, you tell your family to pack their bags, because you are going to the local hotel to live there for the weekend. “Don’t worry kids, we’ll be back home on Monday!”
That is the most ridiculous thing anyone could ever do. If you decide to buy a house, it’s because you want to stay there, make memories, raise your kids, share laughs and create a safe place and sanctuary for those you love. You want to grow your roots and establish a foundation of consistency in your life.
This is what Christ is saying we need in Him, if we want to live a life of joy and peace. Don’t live in the “church house” on Sundays and maybe even Wednesday nights, but then turn around and run to the hotel of the world the rest of the week.
Establish the home of your heart on the Rock that will not be moved. Grow your faith roots deep on His foundation, for it is here you will be able to grow and flourish in your environment. Stay bound to Him, clinging to the vine. A branch knows it cannot survive from the main trunk of the plant. The stem is what provides everything the branch needs to grow and thrive. You will never see a branch decide to just hop off the vine and head out on its own, for it knows that will be certain death.
Do you know that too?
Maybe you struggle with controlling areas of your life, so you find it incredibly difficult to abide in Jesus and trust Him for all things.
Maybe you have a prideful heart, which causes you to refuse to surrender completely to the Lord.
Or maybe you are fearful of the outcome, and just do not know how to let go.
I encourage you to examine the zip code of your heart and see if there are areas that need to be moved. Don’t miss the blessings we are promised when we fully live in Christ Jesus.
We will bear much fruit
We will be green and full of life, to grow and prosper
We will be filled with His love
We will understand the will of the Father, which will cause our prayers to align with that will
We will have joy to the fullest
Looks like a move could be totally worth it, if you ask me.
Anybody need to contact a Uhaul?