Jesus teaches us through John 15:5, that closeness to God and being changed by his life is all a matter of being attached to the vine. This is not something that can be forced or willed to happen. We don’t wake up and say, “I am going to pray like George Muller this morning,” or “I am going to gaze at the blue sky in ecstatic wonder for hours like Jonathan Edwards.” No. Mere determination and militaristic devotion is not the answer for vital connection with God. Well then, how do I get there? You need to understand the art of grafting. Grafting is when you unite a growing branch or bud to the vital root system of another plant through permanent attachment. I have included two pictures of a branch attached to a stem by use of a heavy binding string. Jesus, in the same says in John 15, “a man remains in me and I in him.” What does he mean by this? The word he uses in the Greek is meno, to remain. The New Testament uses this Greek word for many different situations: · In Matthew 10:11 this word is used by Jesus when he sent the disciples out to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near, and when invited in a home that is worthy “stay, remain there for awhile.” · When Mary went to see Elizabeth she “stayed” at her home for 3 months. · In other places it has the idea of enduring, persevering, standing strong. · One of my favorite uses of this word is in the first chapter of John 1:35-39. To sum up, this word meno in our language means to make a home with a person, to stick with them, to endure with them. To dwell with Jesus Christ by faith!
But when a man gets married, and invites a woman to share a home with him, everything changes, and I am not exaggerating, everything changes! You need to buy a bed with a headboard, you start buying dressers to put your socks in and tables and shelves to put your plates and dishes on. And then, out of no-where these strange little items called “nick-nacks” start appearing all over the house and colors begin to match. But even more drastic than that, you begin to start thinking like your spouse, you see the world the same, and you adopt the same priorities, goals, plans objectives. You have to if you are going to be one. It is the same when you share a life with Christ, not only does the wall of your mind start looking different, but your priorities, goals, plans objectives and even your friendships MUST change. It is the only way Jesus will live with you. What is interesting about making a home with someone is that they utterly change you. You start acting like that person, and you even start looking like each other. There are a lot of people who claim Christ but they look nothing like him. I'm curious, do you?
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