A soft, cool breeze gently ruffles my curly, riotous locks, making them dance in its soft caress. Combined with the blue gradient that greets my eyes, the moment is nothing short of perfect. Gravel crunches under my feet, and the morning songs of the sparrows ring forth into the quiet stillness of the early daylight. Slowly, gold streaks between the clouds and alights on the leaves of the flora on my path. In the golden light of daybreak, I realize I'm surrounded on either side of the path by trees.
As I gaze up the ancient trunks into their twittering leaves, it seems as though they were made for the dawn. In fact, together, they seem to be a chorus of color and sound as their glory flutters in the light breeze that dances around the park. Each regal in their glory, in their limbs and trunks reaching up, and their roots burrowing deep. Leaves clapping, cheering on the morning, rustling to get closer to their Creator.
As I meander along the path that winds around their rough, bark-coated trunks, the word abide whispers into my mind. Just moments prior to stepping out from my front porch into the glory of the morning, I had been studying John 15 and Jesus’ teaching on abiding or remaining.
The words “abide in me” had been niggling in my mind, trying to take flight on the wings of comprehension. And somehow, the Holy Spirit was whispering that this moment, the park of arbors I found myself in, was the key to understanding the metaphor-painted lesson of John 15.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:1-11, ESV)
The word “abide” in Greek means to dwell, be present, remain, or tarry. And to tarry means to “linger in expectation, to wait.” As the gravel crunched under my sneakers, and the enjoyment of the moment warmed my heart, I realized that the word abide felt so archaic to my modern understanding. I had no concept of the word apart from this very scripture. And because I did not have this word in my modern vocabulary, and thus did not fully understand its meaning, I assumed that this word in John 15:4 meant that I should be faithful.
But when I look at the definition of the word and consider the metaphor of the vine and branches, I realize that the meaning conveyed to us is not faithfulness, though that is an element of abiding. No, the words tarry and linger, hintingthat there is something more than mere acts of the will.
When I tarry, I drag my feet because I am enjoying the moment, and I don’t want it to end. When I linger, I desire more of the experience. This means that here, the will and desire are mingled together to form a constancy, a faithful remaining.
So if we exchange the word abide with the word linger, the verse reads, “linger with me, and I with you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it lingers with the vine, neither can you, unless you linger with me.”
Do you see how this understanding of the original wording changes how we view what Jesus is telling us? Jesus wants us to desire him as much as we will ourselves to be faithful to him. He doesn’t just want our actions; he wants our affections as well.
Now, if you’re anything like me, I have never spent any time of any kind in a vineyard. I have no concept of what a vine tree looks like, but I do know what regular trees look like. And I think the concept is the same, particularly for fruit-bearing trees. The point is that Jesus is the trunk, the very core of our existence, the source of our flourishing, the anchor that makes us able to live and bear fruit. He bears our weight so we can flourish to the point of abundance.
The interesting thing is that we can all imagine trees that we have seen, which have a couple of dead branches. They don’t flower, their bark becomes brittle, and they slowly whither. If they are not cut off, the whole tree suffers, and eventually, they will fall off, causing large, gaping scars to form on the tree.
But we are told from the John 15 passage that the Father is the vinedresser (gardener). He will not allow the vitality of the entire tree (the church) to be impaired by negligence. So, according to verse 6, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” To put it bluntly, the person who refuses to let their affections and will mingle into a faithful dwelling with the Lord, who rejects the Lord will be removed by God from the body of Christ.
But before you turn away from this hard truth in disgust, let's pause and talk about what exactly the person is rebelling against. Jesus is telling us that he wants intimate love to flow between you and him. He wants your heart way before he wants your behaviors. He wants to love you fully, and he wants you to love him back. He wants you to love him so much that you will choose to spend time with him first, and you will drag your feet in your time with him so that it lasts longer. He wants you to flourish like a wife who is fully loved and valued, like a garden well cared for.
Rebellion, in this context, looks like distancing yourself from Christ, keeping him at arm’s length, and ultimately rejecting his love. He wants to love you, linger with you, talk with you, and spend time with you day in and day out, not out of obligation, but out of affection and desire for YOU. He wants YOU. But if you continue to resist him, there will be nothing to salvage between you and him, and he will give you what you want- a life and eternity apart from his love and pursuit.
Oh, friends, if you don’t know where to start. Start with a request whispered in the dark or shouted into the morning, and it is this: Lord, I want to love you more, but I don’t know how. Please change me to love you more. Please grow my love for you.
Jesus himself tells us, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:7-8 ESV)
Here is a promise: God will never keep any part of Himself from you if you ask. Do you want to be loved? He will take to into the very bottomless depths of his love. You can't get there on your own. You can't will yourself into his love. But you can ask him to change your desires and affections. You can choose to linger with him, rather than running to the world. The depths of his rich love are yours if you would have it. All you have to do is ask.
Written By Sara Danielle Hill
Sara is a nurse, writer and founder of Undercurrents Ministries. For more more information about Sara Hill and her writing, head over to saradaniellehill.com
