So, let's get out of the way

{Daily Selah}

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15:4).




Christians often wonder what Jesus meant when He said, Abide in me, and I in you. Entire books have been devoted this subject and some are well intentioned and useful. But, our human minds tend to over-analyze and complicate even the most basic of scriptural principles. For example, God tells us that salvation is a free gift of His grace for all who will believe yet millions have tried to add their own thinking, works and even ritual to His grace. 

The apostle Paul clearly understood Jesus' meaning when He said, Abide in me, and I in you. Take a look at Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Paul understood that, at the very moment he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, Jesus came to live within him.  He understood that his life was not his own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul realized, like John the baptist that he needed to get out of the way. John said, He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30).

Abide in me, and I in you. Jesus wants us to simply get out of the way and allow Him to live His life out through us. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc) is evidence of a life lived out in this way. When we abide in Him, we allow Him to love others through us, to express His joy through us, and His peace is expressed both in us and through us, in our relationship to the Father and to the world around us. 

Abide in me, and I in you simply means we have to get out of the way and let Jesus live through us, for our own good and for His glory. 

So, let's get out of the way. 


{Daily Selah} is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.