Abide

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
                                                          John 15:4-5

We have only one task: to abide. To tarry, to stay, to cling, to remain, to depend, to rely, to persevere, to commit. To hang in there for the long haul. To make ourselves at home. 

Debie Thomas writes "But "abide" is a tricky word.Passive on the one hand, and active on the other. To abide is to stay rooted in place. But it is also to grow and change. It is a vulnerable-making verb: if we abide, we'll get pruned. It's a risky verb: if we abide, we'll bear fruit that others will see and taste. It's a humbling verb: if we abide, we'll have to accept nourishment that is not of our own making. It's a communal verb: if we abide, we will have to co-exist with our fellow branches. We will have to I've a life that is messy, crowded, tangled. A life that's deeply rooted and wildly fertile."

Lent is a time to abide, to surrender our ferocious independence and consent to live in the Vine.

Abide, friends.

Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation