Stay

Abiding in Christ and Him abiding in us is a core theme of the gospel. The concept is full of meaning. Think of the the word "Abide." I like the synonym "STAY." I personally like continuity and predictability and constancy. But, I find myself in a world of constant change, coming and going, movement and restlessness. I believe I understand God properly in this that he is a God who stays the course, completes his task, and is not moved from his purpose. I envy God that He can rise above the changes of the world and not be changed. (Just as I typed this a message popped up asking if I wanted to STAY on this page. Of course I do, I am not finished.) Even God's name "I AM" carries with it constancy. He remains the same day after day after day. We call that boring. He calls that God.

Our text today is John 6:56 where consuming Jesus causes a man to abide in Jesus and Jesus in him. The person who understands the nature of the relationship with God through Christ will stay. He will not walk away or run. He will abide. The idea is to remain in a certain state or condition. Paul uses this in 1 Cor.7 in a discussion of marriage, and encourages his readers because of the present distress to remain in the state in which they were called. Married folks should stay married and unmarried folks should remain unmarried. In Phil.1:25 Paul was convinced that he would remain in the flesh with the church there for their joy. There is also the conditions of darkness (John 12:46) and death (1 John 3:14) neither of which we should abide. But, perhaps the most familiar reference comes in John 15 regarding the vine and the branches. The branch that does not abide in the vine dies. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The need to stay connected to Jesus could not be clearer. There is no need to worry about Jesus doing his part. It is we who have connection problems. 2 Tim.2:13, "If we are faithless; He remains (stays) faithful because he cannot deny Himself." 

One of my favorite novels is Lord Jim by William Conrad. The short of it is that Jim abandoned ship along with the captain and crew and the poor refuges were lost at sea. This haunted Jim for the rest of his life, wondering if he should have stayed and perhaps saved some of these poor people. He spent the rest of his life trying to prove he was not a coward. It is a sad story, but illustrates the choices we all make. Jesus taught us the value of staying. He modeled it. He died instead of running away. How incredible our families and churches would be if we had this mentality, being a people who are incredibly loyal to one another, that we would rather die than to desert, and that we can be counted on day after day. If our relationship with Jesus and the Father means anything then it must be lived out daily in the relationships we have in this world. When this breaks down, we all suffer.