Abide in me

By Rob Hurtgen

My parents told me when I grew up, I could do anything I wanted to do and be anything I wanted to be. I can only imagine they started to rethink that good-sounding advice when I told them I wanted to be Luke Skywalker.

I was probably not going to be exactly who I wanted to be.

Most parents I know want to instill within their children a sense of borderless optimism.

They want their children to imagine all the possibilities of where their lives could go, all the while possessing an enduring work ethic that enables them to reach for their dreams.

At some point in my own story, I discovered I really could not do everything I wanted to do. No matter how much I wanted to, I was never going to be inducted into the hall of the worlds' tallest men.

Through hard work and training, I probably could have learned to dunk a basketball, but there were other things I was more naturally gifted at. We can work to be whatever we want to be and miss who exactly we were created to be.

In John 15:4 Jesus says, "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."

One principle Jesus teaches in this beautiful and complicated verse and chapter is that what is produced in our lives is directly related to whom and what we abide in.

By abiding in him, life produces fruit that reflects him. By abiding in something else, life produces fruit that reflects that.

To abide means to dwell, to remain in. To, as the New Living Translation says, "Live in me. Make your home in me."

In other words, part of the Christian ethic is to not only find your identity in Jesus, but also your future. Discovering not only who you are, but yielding to him to frame who you will be.

Everyone's life and what is produced in their lives, regardless of a faith commitment, is built from what their lives are rooted in.

As a Christian, I can try to be whoever I want, do whatever I desire, but in doing so, miss who God created me to be. Abiding is much better than accomplishing.