Where am I abiding? What is the condition of the fruit? Today I am meditating on John 15, and the significance of abiding in Jesus for there to be significant fruit. I am also considering all the counterfeit ways we consciously or unconsciously try to bear fruit. More specifically, in considering the First Commandment, which says to have no other gods before God, it would also be right to say that trying to achieve salvation without Christ is to do the same. Consider the meaning of idolatry. Anything we look to more than we look to Christ for our sense of acceptability, joy, significance, hope, and security is by definition our god - something we adore, serve, and rely on with out whole life and heart. In general, idols can be good things (family, achievement, work and career, romance, talent, etc. - even gospel ministry) that we turn into ultimate things to give us the significance and joy we need. They drive us into the ground because we must have them. A sure sign of the presence of idolatry is inordinate anxiety, anger, or discouragement when our idols are thwarted. So if you lose a good thing, it makes you sad, but if you lose an idol, it devastates us. Idolatry is the root of our other sins and problems. What, then, is the essence of behavior change? What will help us lead godly lives? The solution is not simply to force or scare ourselves into doing the right thing, but to apply the gospel to our hearts idols, which are always an alternate form of self-salvation apart from Jesus. We will never change unless we come to grips with the particular, characteristic ways our hearts resist the gospel and continue their self- salvation projects through idolatry. We must keep our focus on the gospel and the work of Christ, and abide in Him, remembering the grace by which He called us, and allow the Holy Spirit to do the necessary work to bring about the gospel renewal needed in our lives. Only in this way will we be able to see true and lasting fruit developing through our lives. It is in this abiding relationship that His joy remains and envelopes our lives. So we come back to that all important question, where are we abiding? There is no other source that can produce godly fruit in our lives.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 11:20:31 +0000
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