Abide

 “My dad had a green thumb and could turn sand into green grass, or and he passed that knowledge to a few of my brothers and both my sisters. I couldn’t keep a fake plant alive even if I wanted to, mostly because though Mexican, landscaping was not my thing. My dad was a master grafter, in where he would take a piece of a tree and put cloth around it and after it grew a little would give them to my family to have their own lime trees, avocados and others. He did this so that we could continue to enjoy the fruit from the original trees he had planted and raised. My dads yard was filled with orange, lemon, lime, avocado, guava, figs, and he also had corn, chili’s and roses, and other small herbs that him and my mom used for teas. My family got the blessing of continued fruits that we enjoyed growing up, because my dad loved us enough to graft what was his for all to enjoy even after he left.

John wrote in chapter Fifteen, 

“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.” ‭(ESV‬‬) 

Jesus is talking to His disciples, and this was after telling them, He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Unless we abide in Him, we can do nothing. Now some people who don’t believe in God will read this and think, I do everything on my own and am in no need of God. For Christians, it’s not as easy as it sounds, or as what some pastors will teach, because God is not a genie that we summon when we’re in need. Abiding is tough in our everyday, especially with the things of God. I struggle daily with lusts of this world, and I know people struggle with alcohol, drugs, pain, migraines, kids, money, and whatever else you need to put here. All of us have wavered in our faith, regardless of what age, people group, financial status or sex you are, life is hard, and following God is harder. Jesus says "Follow" Him, not the church, not traditions, not certain passages, but Him. Yet people think our faith is foolish to say, Abide in Him and He will bear the fruit in you, nothing we do, but just abiding. The word abide as defined by Webster says, "to remain stable or fixed in a state." The word abide is a verb, which a "doing" word. So what does that mean? If i remain and fixed on God, He will produce the fruit in us, with the works we do to glorify Him. Now people hear works and think, "No, we are saved by grace," which is true, but James says in James Two, 

"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (NKJV)

Paul in Ephesians Two, speaking of us being saved by grace alone, continues in verse Ten, 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast. For we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand, that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM." (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

When my dad grafted the trees together, had he just grafted them and not watered, watched them, or taken care of them, they would have died. In order for us to "LIVE," we must abide. Does this mean that bad things won't happen? NO, because bad things happen to everyone, as death is not something anyone won't experience, but the difference is death with Jesus or apart from Jesus is what matters. Jesus has called everyone, but not everyone hears. Jesus waters, nurtures, feeds, and guide us, and regardless of what we do, think we do, it's all Jesus in us doing, and for Jesus. Paul says this in First Corinthians Three, 

“For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? SERVANTS THROUGH whom you believed, as the Lord ASSIGNED TO EACH. I planted, Apollos watered, but GOD GAVE THE GROWTH. So neither he who plants nor he who waters IS ANYTHING, BUT ONLY GOD who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

In Matthew Eleven Twenty Eight Jesus says, 

“Come to me, all WHO LABOR and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and LEARN FROM ME, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

It’s not ours to conquer alone, for us to "labor" and be "Heavy Ladened," but that's why Jesus is telling us to LEARN FROM HIM. What can we learn, unlike me not learning from my earthly father? Jesus was about His Father's business, by constantly praying, eating, healing, and being present for those who sought Him, to be an example of "Loving the Lord our God and loving our neighbor as ourselves."

We can be happy and think life is grand and fine and that we don’t need God, but you can only fool yourself for so long before you either harden your heart or humble it. We’ve seen too many people commit suicide that supposedly had everything going for them but only to be lied to by the enemy, and not keep holding onto the true Vine. Unlike the trees and plants that my dad grafted to keep the legacy going, we need to be grafted and stay a part of the original and only saving Vine there is. He is Life, He is Light, He is Water, and He is Air, and those are the only things we need in this life, the other blessings are just icing on the cake. So my question is, what are you holding onto that is choking out your "graft" and withering your leaf's? Well, come back to true Vine and let Him restore and renew your life. Let Him hold you, and you will see how much easier it is to "Abide," when He is the center of all you are.” Jose Barajas