Read John 15:1-17

“…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…”

Our culture rewards people who appear to have become independently successful. People who seem to have “made something of their life” without the undue influence of parents, employers, partners or friends. People who can proudly “stand on their own two feet”. Even in a moral and spiritual sense many in our day feel compelled – and even encouraged – to create their own morality or spirituality. We feel justified to “live our own truth”. Even followers of Jesus like you and I can unintentionally adopt this mindset. We unwittingly make selective use of his teachings for our gain. Or we use Jesus’ words to justify going off in our own direction, yet still expect to produce (“bear”) what the Bible calls healthy spiritual “fruit” (see Galatians 5:22-23).

Jesus makes it clear that His plan for you is different. His path is not simply a “better” path than your previous one, but a different path that you walk together with Him. He wants to journey so closely entwined that you grow fruit by association, not merely performance. This is not an exclusively spiritual or religious model of life. We see this model of growth at work in families when children learn by imitating their parents – using toy hammers, mixers and computers to emulate those they look up to. It’s not just children who learn this way. Apprentices learn from tradespeople. Athletes learn from coaches. Students learn from tutors. Juniors learn from seniors.

One of the keys in these relationships is being close enough to pick up the subtle tips, nuanced movements that our teachers do intuitively. Jesus says in John chapter 15 that we are to similarly pay close attention to his “words” and “commandments” as he has paid attention to His Father’s. Without minimising the supernatural dynamics in following Jesus, Jesus reveals that the simplest way to abide in him is to simply learn from his person and teaching. Love how he loves. Think how he thinks. Serve how he serves. Give how he gives. Pray how he prays. This can only happen when we are close enough to abide in him.

Jesus view his followers as a branch that cannot survive without its vine. In fact, a branch makes no sense and has no purpose without a vine! Similarly, Jesus invites us to discover our purpose and identity in reference to him, our vine. In everyday terms, we should thus gravitate towards activities, thoughts and people that draw us into this abiding relationship and avoid ones that do not! For some, it’s exploring prayer and daily Bible reading, or beginning to attend a local church.

While Jesus’ example of abiding with His Father required great sacrifice and discipline, he clearly believes that this kind of life is full of joy! It seems that the life we most earnestly seek is the life that’s lived most intimately with him. So, learn to abide in Jesus so that your life might truly thrive.