Are you holding on to God's hand? Or is He holding on to your hand? When Jesus
says, "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;
no more can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4), does He mean that the
"Vine" (which is Himself) does nothing to maintain the connection but leaves
that "abiding" to the initiative of the branch? In other words, does your
salvation depend on you holding on to God ("abiding in Him"), or to your
believing that He is holding on to you?
Or, to put it in even more simple language, does your salvation really depend
on your own works? Jesus says something here in John 15 that needs closer
attention: "Abide in Me, and I in you." For us to abide in Him requires our own
initiative; He will not force us; but He also says, "I abide in you." Does the
branch do the abiding in the vine, or does the vine do the abiding in the
branch?
Well, the answer is obvious: all the sap and nutriments for the branch come
from the vine and its root. The branch cannot live on its own. Life comes from
the vine, not vice versa! A little later in John 15, Jesus explains what it
means for Him to abide in us: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you shall ask what you desire" (vs. 7). What He says is Good News all the way
through. He is the Vine, we are the branches; only our own perverse choice can
separate us from Him. The sap is constantly flowing from the root through the
Vine to the branch--don't stop it! Don't cut it off.
The missing link of Good News truth is found in Colossians 3:16: "Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." Jesus had already promised us in
John 14:26 that He is giving us the GIFT of the Holy Spirit who will "bring to
your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26). In your darkest
moment when you cry out "My God, why have You forsaken me?" that Holy Spirit is
pressing upon your conscience, your memory, the "word of Christ." Welcome it!
Cherish it! Choose to receive it! "Let it abide in you"! Thank God for that
"word"! He says, "I the Lord God will hold your right hand" (Isa. 41:13). It's
tremendously important to know who is who here--Who does the holding?
--Robert J. Wieland
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