January 24, 2018 - "Abide In Me . . . "

Chaplain’s Corner

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

“Abide in me...”

Greetings, Patriots!

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” - John 15: 4 (KJV)

Today’s blog is a message to those who already claim to be Christian, and have accepted the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is a simple truth that many of us have seemed to miss, and I wanted to remind us all of a wonderful truth: we don’t have to work for our salvation. We don’t do good works to be saved we do good works BECAUSE we are saved. Sadly, many Christians think that if they are not “performing” for God regularly, then they may not get the reward of eternal life. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Jesus calls us to “abide” in Him, using a vine as an example. We see “bearing fruit” as doing good works and performing for God. In reality, the grapes or other fruit don’t do anything but take in the nutrients being provided by the vine and grow naturally. As long as we “abide” in Christ, or “rest” in Him, and allow Him to grow us from the inside, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves becoming more and more like Christ, and we will find ourselves becoming rich in spiritual nutrients. Our growth will be a natural outcome of our “resting” in the Lord, and it will be genuine.

Ask yourself: What is the purpose of the fruit on the trees or the grapes on a vine? Why do they exist? The answer is that the fruit is life-giving to animals and birds and humans as they consume it. The fruit of the vine is there for a purpose: to provide nutrients and life-sustaining vitamins and roughage to accentuate and improve life. If we are bearing spiritual fruit as we abide in Christ, what is the purpose of that fruit? It is for sustaining life and health for others who partake of it. Our living a Christian life, and being who God made us to be, affects others around us. How we treat others can have a profound effect on them, and we are actually “planting seeds” in their minds and hearts. Others can and will “water” those seeds, and God’s Spirit will make them grow. We don’t save people, and we don’t convert people. We are simply tools used by God and His Spirit to aid in His plan to draw people to Himself and touch their hearts to the core. We all have talents we can use in that regard, but in the long run, it is simply by our answering the call to “be holy as I am Holy” as we submit to God’s righteous standards and allow Holy Spirit to change us and grow us in Him, we can become “ambassadors for Christ” by simply living our lives for Him. In doing so, we can show that we love God, love people, and we can change lives.

Have you ever had any jewelry that was called Black Hills Gold? It is unique in that it is three different colors of gold, all mined in one spot in the Black Hills in the Dakotas. If you have seen the rings and other pieces of jewelry, you will notice that they are usually adorned with carvings of grape clusters and leaves. The story behind that is that there was a man who went out prospecting in the Black Hills to find gold, and eventually ran out of food and water and was about to die. He found an oasis, and there were wild grapes growing there. He rested there and ate the grapes and regained his strength, and his life was saved. But that is not all. He figured he might as well dig for gold there, and he struck it rich when he found a motherlode of the tri-color gold. Grapes became a “good luck” symbol for him and the legend lives on.

Can you see a parallel in this story? People around us who do not know Jesus are literally starving to death spiritually, and they are seeking solace. We can be those life-saving grapes that supply nourishment and nutrients and a sense of spiritual awakening simply by being who we are in Christ. We don’t have to work at it, we are simply called to abide in Him and we will grow as He sees fit. Our purpose will be fulfilled when others around us are affected by us, by the lives we live, and it can literally be life-saving. Interestingly, someone may be duly impressed with our walk and talk, but unless they are inspired to dig for the right answers, they may miss the real treasure. If those that are affected by our lives go to the next level and start to dig for hidden spiritual treasures, they will discover a motherlode of riches in a new-found relationship with Jesus. Their lives will be changed forever, and they will be richly blessed as they “mine” those spiritual riches and apply them to their lives. As they prosper and grow spiritually, they will always be appreciative of those lifesaving “grapes” that fed them spiritual nourishment when they we literally starving to death. We will have a special relationship with each other for eternity as we all sing praises with each other before the Throne of God.

So, in conclusion, let’s just remember that Jesus has already done all of the work for us, and all we have to do is trust in Him as our Lord and Savior, and then abide in Him as we align ourselves and our lives to His righteous standards of moral living. He will do all of the “heavy lifting” and all we have to do is be who we are and rest in Him. It’s all about Grace, not works. Yes, God has works set aside for each of us, but those works are not what saves us.

“8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ - Ephesians 2: 8 - 10 (NIV)

God bless you, every one, and:
God Bless America!
Stephen King
Chaplain@3upi.com