Seven Last Words

Priscilla Shirer opens by telling the story of two different ponds. One is able to maintain despite the elements, and the other would be almost completely dry in times of drought. The only difference was one was a natural pond with an internal spring-fed source, and the other was man-made.

Words of truth that we need to hear that will nourish our souls: without an ongoing and active nourishment coming up inside of you, you won't have sustained hope, peace, joy, contentment, grace, or fulfillment it is going to require when a drought comes.

We need something on the inside of us that doesn't need something from the outside to keep it steady and strong.

This is so important that a day before Jesus knew He was going to die, He focused on teaching His disciples this principle. The internal source of fulfillment was the only thing that would be able to sustain it when their hope was going to be dashed, their dreams squashed, and their hearts broken. Jesus knew all their hopes were pinned on Him, and they would experience immense disappointment when He would be arrested, tried, and sentenced to death.

What do you do when someone you love only has a few more words available for you before they are going to leave? Wouldn't you lean in and intently listen with all that you had to not miss anything? The disciples are leaning in because Jesus is intentionally sharing with them exactly what He wants them to know before He is crucified, raised, and ascending away from them.

Jesus has just finished the Last Supper, washing their feet, His prediction of His betrayal, assured their hearts to not be troubled, and reminded them that He's going to prepare a place for them. He told them He was going to ask His Father to send another Helper to come. He promises to leave peace with them. On the heels of this, He leads them out of the city to the Mount of Olives.

The route they would have taken to get the the Garden of Gethsemane would have been familiar to them. They would have passed grapes on the vine. Vineyards represented joy, festivities, and the abundance of community. Imagine that Jesus stopped at one of those vineyards and spoke these specific seven words from John 15 to them. The words that would continually nourish them through all years to come. "Abide in me, and I in you."

Simple, yet profound in its implication. This is one of the most critical messages Jesus leaves with His disciples. Abide in Him, and He promises to abide in them. When your health fails, your friend betrays you, when the endeavor you worked so hard on falters, when you're not appreciated or even noticed, when the road gets tough to traverse, when your loved one dies, when your ministry flounders, when your heart is broken...Jesus says there is only one thing that will give you the continuous sustenance and nourishment that you need to have a well of joy and hope that overrides in times like these: "Abide in me and let me richly abide in you."

"Abide" was a very important word to John. He uses it 40 times in his gospel and 27 times in the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John. The original work in Greek is "meno" and means "to remain, to stay." It implies an interconnection to be immersed with. Think of a tea bag in hot water. It just hangs out there and abides. The longer it sits in the hot water, the stronger it gets. The strength of your life depends on whether or not you choose to remain, to stay rooted and steady. Deepen your relationship with Jesus every single day.

Abiding is about deepening your friendship with Him. Talk to Him. Do you give Him time to talk back to you? Is your life immersed in His? Do you obey Him and heed His conviction? Make it the priority of your life to cultivate your friendship with Jesus.

The things that seem stunning in our lives and the giant moves we make for the Kingdom will not sustain us over the long haul. Our overriding ambition must be to please Christ and Christ alone, to abide with Him and have a relationship with Him.

Sam Pasco said, "Christianity began in the land of the Bible as a fellowship, a relationship. It moved on to Greece and became an institution, a place you go. Then it moved to Rome, and in Rome, it became a philosophy, a way people think. Then, it moved from Rome to Europe and became a culture, a way of life. Then, from Europe, Christianity came to America, and it became an enterprise, a business. Now, it's just what we do."

Lord help us if Christianity is what we do and not who we are.

John 15 says, "I am the Vine and you are the branches. My Father is the vinedresser." The whole chapter is worth your time. Jesus is describing three players in a working vineyard. The vine, the branches, and the vinedresser. The Vine, Jesus, provides all the nutrients, elements, and life for the branch, us, to remain steady, flourish, and produce the fruit that it was designed and planted to produce. All of that is available to the branch if it just stays connected, truly internally connected. We don't have to strive. We have to abide. The Vinedresser tends to everything and works day in and day out to care perfectly for the branch. The Vine does work, pulsating nutrients. The Vinedresser does work, cultivating and making sure every vine is in its place. The branch does not work. It remains and rests in Him. See Matthew 11:28-29, Psalm 46:10, 2 Peter 1:3.

Follow these seven words: abide in me and I in you, and you will be sustained for all of your days.