Remain
Read John 15.
One word dominates the first half of this chapter, this conversation that Jesus is having with his disciples just shortly before he is arrested and put on trial for his life. It's a word that, when you read the chapter, just jumps off the page in light of what's going on. It's the word "remain," and considering all these disciples are about to face, it's an astonishing thing Jesus asks of them.
It's the night we call "Maundy Thursday," just after the Last Supper, and Jesus and his followers (minus Judas, of course) are on their way to Gethsemane. There he will pray one last time and be arrested. He's going to a familiar place for prayer, it seems, so that Judas and the soldiers can find him. But it's a long walk down the length of the Kidron Valley, so he has lots of time to share what's on his heart. He knows the next few days—especially the next few hours—are going to be difficult for the disciples, more difficult than they can ever imagine. He knows they are going to be tested in ways that few of us will ever be. They will want to flee (and, in fact, most of them do for a while). But Jesus wants them to remain.
Remain in him, and he will remain in them.
Remain connected to the vine, and they will bear fruit (that fruit is love, by the way, which is an astonishing thing to think about in light of all the hate Jesus is about to encounter).
Remain in him, and they will have life.
Remain in his love and he will give them joy.
Get the picture yet?
In the Garden, they will want to run away because life is about to get very, very hard. Their physical life will be in danger. They will know fear like few of us have. And despite all of that, Jesus calls them to remain. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
In our "pick and choose" world, we don't like this word. When life gets hard, when the marriage goes stale, when the church upsets us, when the friendship doesn't feel fresh like it used to—we want to run. It's easier, we think, to get out of a difficult situation than to work through it. It's far better, we rationalize, to just start fresh (new spouse, new job, new church) than to stay connected and walk through the hard times. It would have been easier for the disciples, too, yet Jesus called them to remain, even when everything falls apart. How else will the world see what faithfulness looks like?
When it gets hard, the temptation is strong to run away. But the call is to remain.
+++++++
P.S. Please do not interpret what I am saying to include situations where abuse of any kind is taking place. I recognize this happens in marriages, in churches, and in other sorts of relationships. Spiritual, mental and physical abuse is never a place where Jesus calls us to stay, and if you find yourself in one of those situations, please do all you can to get help.
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| Looking over the Kidron Valley toward the Temple Mount, 2017 |
It's the night we call "Maundy Thursday," just after the Last Supper, and Jesus and his followers (minus Judas, of course) are on their way to Gethsemane. There he will pray one last time and be arrested. He's going to a familiar place for prayer, it seems, so that Judas and the soldiers can find him. But it's a long walk down the length of the Kidron Valley, so he has lots of time to share what's on his heart. He knows the next few days—especially the next few hours—are going to be difficult for the disciples, more difficult than they can ever imagine. He knows they are going to be tested in ways that few of us will ever be. They will want to flee (and, in fact, most of them do for a while). But Jesus wants them to remain.
Remain in him, and he will remain in them.
Remain connected to the vine, and they will bear fruit (that fruit is love, by the way, which is an astonishing thing to think about in light of all the hate Jesus is about to encounter).
Remain in him, and they will have life.
Remain in his love and he will give them joy.
Get the picture yet?
In the Garden, they will want to run away because life is about to get very, very hard. Their physical life will be in danger. They will know fear like few of us have. And despite all of that, Jesus calls them to remain. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
In our "pick and choose" world, we don't like this word. When life gets hard, when the marriage goes stale, when the church upsets us, when the friendship doesn't feel fresh like it used to—we want to run. It's easier, we think, to get out of a difficult situation than to work through it. It's far better, we rationalize, to just start fresh (new spouse, new job, new church) than to stay connected and walk through the hard times. It would have been easier for the disciples, too, yet Jesus called them to remain, even when everything falls apart. How else will the world see what faithfulness looks like?
When it gets hard, the temptation is strong to run away. But the call is to remain.
+++++++
P.S. Please do not interpret what I am saying to include situations where abuse of any kind is taking place. I recognize this happens in marriages, in churches, and in other sorts of relationships. Spiritual, mental and physical abuse is never a place where Jesus calls us to stay, and if you find yourself in one of those situations, please do all you can to get help.
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