“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” – John 14:4
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28
Jesus invites us to come and “abide in me” (John 15:4). He extends this invitation to us with astonishing generosity. We don’t need to be worthy or to perform for his love. He invites us to come long before we reach for his grace, forgiveness, and closeness. We didn’t choose him—he chose us for his love, to be transformed into his likeness, and to share his offer of life and salvation with others. We abide in Jesus because we are already joined to him, and because he welcomes us long before we seek him out.
Many of us fear rejection, because we live in a world that judges us on our performance, attractiveness, and perceived value. Most of us know the particular dread of waiting to hear back—the interview that went well enough, the message left on read, the room we walk into wondering whether we still belong there. But we need not fear. Jesus never rejects those who come to him (John 6:37). The guarantee of welcome and embrace resides in the character of Jesus Christ—his everlasting love—so those of us who are weary can trust in his assurance.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matt 11:28). He sees our weariness, pain, and burdens, and names the load before he lifts it. The load we carry is often the weight of justifying ourselves through efforts to seem righteous and good, to be well and whole, or to be worthy of love and acceptance. It’s the load of the person who arrives everywhere slightly out of breath, carrying the version of themselves they hope will be accepted, afraid to put it down in case anyone sees what’s underneath. We’re exhausted from trying to prove ourselves, and this is the burden Christ offers to take. The rest offered is rest from earning and striving.
The rest Jesus offers comes with his call to follow his Way. This is the Jesus Way—a way of life apprenticed to Jesus. The Jesus Way is a life dedicated to following his commands, glorifying his Father, proclaiming his gospel, and living in the freedom of his Spirit and in the self-giving power and love of his life, death, and resurrection. The yoke is easy because Jesus carries us while we follow him—so he carries the very yoke he puts on us as his disciples. As Dallas Willard once said, the grace of God welcomes our effort while opposing our earning.
We respond to the call of Christ on our lives by coming to him. But that’s just the start. The call that brought us to Jesus keeps drawing us deeper into his love, his life, his truth, and his Way. Our conversion is like walking through an open door, and abiding is about dwelling in the house, which makes each day a fresh coming to the same welcome offered us in Jesus Christ.
Our moods don’t determine the quality or reality of our abiding. Abiding rests on a real union. Jesus makes our union with God both a possibility and a living reality, drawing us into the intimate love of Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus’s death and resurrection make it possible for us to be joined to him and each other in a profound, sacred union. Your abiding with Jesus stands on his union with you, no matter whether your feelings are high or flat. A branch continues to draw sap (it’s life) from a vine, no matter whether it’s a cloudy or sunny day. The vine continues to give the branch life, no matter the weather.
The dwelling runs in both directions. Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). This is mutual abiding, and John 14:23 makes it even fuller—the Father and the Son come and make their home with those who love. We don’t need to strive, perform, or earn this mutual indwelling. Being kept is God’s work (John 10:28–29; Philippians 1:6), so we can sustain this life of union with Jesus Christ, knowing that God both makes it possible and sustains it.
The practice of abiding happens in the everyday and ordinary—washing dishes, commuting to work, reading a book to a child, vacuuming the floors, and a thousand other ordinary acts. Abiding may happen in extraordinary and miraculous moments, but most often we abide in the mundane, ordinary, daily moments of life. Abiding in Jesus is about finding him in those places, turning back to him each time we drift, and letting him form us each day.
Those whom Jesus welcomes become the welcome. Jesus says that abiding involves fruit that will last and expressions of love that others see and experience (John 15:8; 13:35). Jesus’s invitation to come and abide is manifest to the world through individuals and communities that express God’s grace, truth, love, and welcome. We abide in Jesus Christ and extend the welcome to others through our Christlike acts of compassion and welcome. In this we share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which says, “Abide in me, and I in you.”
Question for reflection
Are you choosing to abide in Jesus today, and resting from the burdens of earning and striving?
Ten Movements of the Jesus Way
If something here has stirred you toward the way of Jesus, you might find a companion in my book, Ten Movements of the Jesus Way: Shifting from Worldly Self-Interest to Radical Discipleship (InterVarsity Press).
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Keep walking the Jesus Way: the podcast
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