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Abiding and Abounding - Feb. 2009
Recently I was blessed by a
devotional given by a friend of mine to a group of educators. As he shared I was struck with two
words he used which seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear in these
uncertain times. Abiding and
abounding – words probably translated in other versions of the Bible as
remaining and overflowing – but I think and maybe it is just me, but abiding
and abounding seem to have a greater richness and depth in meaning that the
other words do not.
In John 15, Christ speaks the
powerful words about the relationship between the vine and branches. It begins with, “I am the true vine and
my Father is the gardener.” And
continues, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you, no branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me.” A few verses later it goes on with the
same theme, “If you abide in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you.”
Remarkable isn’t it? The promises we have available to
us if we “abide” in Christ are limitless.
To abide seems to indicate an enormous amount of trust, a confidence in
the one in which we are abiding.
If we strive to live in community with God, it should be reflected in
how we live in community with each other because they can never be
separated. Abiding in Christ means
that our lives will never be the same and the fruit of that relationship should
be very evident. Certainly in
these challenging times I want to abide and make sure that as a branch I am
very tightly connected to the vine.
The security of abiding is what permits me to live in total confidence that
God is in control and that He is indeed watching over me. I like that – I need that.
But the Scriptures go on in II
Corinthians 9 to extend that image to more than just abiding, which sounds
almost static, God tells us that those that abide in Him will also abound –
flourish. The context of these
words are within the story about sowing generously will provide the opportunity
to reap generously in the future.
Verse 8 begins with: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work.” The promise is that
those who abide in Christ will receive all that we need. It says clearly, “you will abound in
every good work.” Those things
that we are called to do by God will be blessed - His grace will abound, it
will overflow, and we will be given more than we need if we abide in Him
first. Note that it does not say
that everything will be easy or comfortable but that if you stay connected to
Christ and abide in that connection then His grace will abound to you – more
than you even need.
What a picture – abiding and abounding
– because if I miss out on that strong connection with Christ then I will also
miss out on the abundance that is made available to me through God’s grace.I need to make sure I keep that tremendous
promise in front of me at all times and because of my good friend’s devotional
I have just the reminder I need to do so – abiding and abounding. I hope those words might remind you of
that same wonderful comfort and source of strength and trigger in your mind the
powerful pictures of the vine and the branch and the overflowing blessings that
can be ours because we are working faithfully to stay tightly connected to
Christ.
View all episodes
Recently I was blessed by a
devotional given by a friend of mine to a group of educators. As he shared I was struck with two
words he used which seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear in these
uncertain times. Abiding and
abounding – words probably translated in other versions of the Bible as
remaining and overflowing – but I think and maybe it is just me, but abiding
and abounding seem to have a greater richness and depth in meaning that the
other words do not.
In John 15, Christ speaks the
powerful words about the relationship between the vine and branches. It begins with, “I am the true vine and
my Father is the gardener.” And
continues, “Abide in me, and I will abide in you, no branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me.” A few verses later it goes on with the
same theme, “If you abide in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you.”
Remarkable isn’t it? The promises we have available to
us if we “abide” in Christ are limitless.
To abide seems to indicate an enormous amount of trust, a confidence in
the one in which we are abiding.
If we strive to live in community with God, it should be reflected in
how we live in community with each other because they can never be
separated. Abiding in Christ means
that our lives will never be the same and the fruit of that relationship should
be very evident. Certainly in
these challenging times I want to abide and make sure that as a branch I am
very tightly connected to the vine.
The security of abiding is what permits me to live in total confidence that
God is in control and that He is indeed watching over me. I like that – I need that.
But the Scriptures go on in II
Corinthians 9 to extend that image to more than just abiding, which sounds
almost static, God tells us that those that abide in Him will also abound –
flourish. The context of these
words are within the story about sowing generously will provide the opportunity
to reap generously in the future.
Verse 8 begins with: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work.” The promise is that
those who abide in Christ will receive all that we need. It says clearly, “you will abound in
every good work.” Those things
that we are called to do by God will be blessed - His grace will abound, it
will overflow, and we will be given more than we need if we abide in Him
first. Note that it does not say
that everything will be easy or comfortable but that if you stay connected to
Christ and abide in that connection then His grace will abound to you – more
than you even need.
What a picture – abiding and abounding
– because if I miss out on that strong connection with Christ then I will also
miss out on the abundance that is made available to me through God’s grace.I need to make sure I keep that tremendous
promise in front of me at all times and because of my good friend’s devotional
I have just the reminder I need to do so – abiding and abounding. I hope those words might remind you of
that same wonderful comfort and source of strength and trigger in your mind the
powerful pictures of the vine and the branch and the overflowing blessings that
can be ours because we are working faithfully to stay tightly connected to
Christ.