The message of abiding in Jesus resonates deep within my spirit.

I have been humming the song, “If You Abide in Me,” a Maranatha Kids tune that my children had repeatedly listened to when they were young. Another tune that keeps running through my mind is the much-loved English hymn, Abide with Me. I was surprised to discover that it had been sung in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The author of the hymn, Henry Francis Lyte, was an Anglican priest and vicar of All Saints Church in Brixham, England. For most of his life, he suffered from poor health, including tuberculosis. In 1847, though very ill, he insisted on preaching once more to his congregation. He passed on the lyrics to Abide with Me to a dear relative before going home to be with Jesus at the age of 54.

Each verse of this beloved hymn ends with the plea “Abide with me.”

Help of the helpless, O abide with me …
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus abide with me …
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me …
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

I have referenced this quote in an earlier devotional, but it’s one worth repeating. Joshua Harris writes, "When we think about what it means to abide in Jesus our temptation is to a checklist. But abiding isn't a program. Abiding is a relationship. We live in an electronic world, and we want to treat this like charging an electronic device. How long do I have to be plugged into God through a quiet time or prayer or reading a book to get the charge I need to then go out and do my thing? But Jesus doesn't say 'I am the power cord; you are the cell phone.' He says, 'I'm the Vine. You're the branch.' If you want life, there can't be any disconnect. Abiding is living in this constant awareness of total dependence.’”

If we fully comprehend Jesus’ words, “Apart from Me you can do nothing,” we gain incredible freedom. The fruit we bear is His fruit. Jesus is the Vine. He is the One and only source of our fruit-bearing. He said that if we abide, we WILL bear much fruit. That sounds like a promise to me!

Think of the wonderful story found in Scripture about Jesus’ dear friends, Mary, and Martha. What was Jesus’ answer to Martha’s anxious “performing?” “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41,42).

Mary knew how to abide at the feet of Jesus.

As we abide in Him, may we be filled with joy as the sweet and flavourful fruit of our lives impacts others and points them to Jesus.

Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.