“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 NKJV
The word ‘abide’ has several meanings in the Bible, it can mean to dwell, to continue or to remain. As Jesus is most likely talking to His disciples as well as all of the people in the crowd that followed Him around in this passage, He uses an analogy of the vine and branches to explain being connected. The connection is talking about is between His disciples and Him, but as we read this in our time, it is also about us and Him.
Plants unlike humans need a physical connection to the source of nourishment to survive. If a branch is cut off from the main part of the plant, it cannot survive and will die. Jesus is using this comparison in the time He is living on earth because most of the people were rich in knowledge about farming but the idea of remaining spiritually connected for survival was a new idea.
They had been connected to God but it was a very formal third party kind of connection. The priests and prophets were the only people who were in communication with God. Priests were able to talk to God during the times when sacrifice were offered or they entered the Holy of Holies. Prophets were in communication with God through visions but those did not occur all the time. Those who were not priests or prophets did not have a direct line to God, so this idea of remaining connected all the time was new to the people following Jesus . As we know when Jesus had more complex spiritual concepts to explain, He would use what the people around Him were familiar with.
As the word ‘abide’ has a different meaning in the Bible than in our everyday language, Jesus uses it to describe a very strong connection. That connection can be described as physical as God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside each and every believer, He dwells in us. It also can be used to describe that very strong personal relationship that Jesus wants to have with each of His followers, we continue or remain in daily contact with Jesus.
Just as the water and nutrients are fed from the plant through the vine into the branch so that it can survive and grow, our nutrients are fed to us through the Vine, Jesus. Our nutrients, the things we need to grow in our spiritual walk and relationship with Jesus, are given to us through prayer, listening to music that honors God, reading the Bible and then applying what we learn in our every day lives.
The stronger our connection the more we are able to grow. How strong is your connection to our Life Line, Jesus? Are you fed daily or only occasionally? I encourage anyone who is reading this to take time today to think about those questions and evaluate where you stand in your connection to Jesus. Your spiritual growth depends on it. Have a blessed day.