Abide

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:1-8).

Christ the Vine (Unknown)

I have been thinking about that old phrase – you are either with me or against me.

It is obviously not a Christian phrase, as Christ said the opposite when He told His disciples that those who were not against them were with them.  But it is certainly a phrase that is used very commonly in the modern world.  What this phrase really means is that a person must choose a side and in choosing the side, they must commit to the beliefs and values of that side so that they will be spared the feeling of ostracization by others who are on the other side.

When I was a schoolgirl, this sort of attitude was described as peer pressure.  We would be taught to resist the pressure to conform to the majority because if we could resist that pressure, we could potentially allow ourselves to make decisions that would be in our own best interests and that were not he result of what others were trying to force us into doing…

Christ said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser...  If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:1-8).

And in this way, He was telling us – you and me, too – that if we were to make decisions that would allow us to be at one with God, then we would be subject to His protection…

But this was not a promise that God would grant wishes like a genie from a lamp.  It does not mean that we can list out requests and expect God to grant them.  I can promise you that I never prayed harder in my life for my last little baby to live or to be able to have another baby after he died before he was even born, and yet God did not answer my prayers.  But this is not to say that because my prayers were answered with a NO that God is not GOOD or does not love me.  Rather, He loves me so much, that He is willing to say NO to me – even when it hurts me and risks my (unjustified) anger towards Him.  And He is willing to do that for MY GOOD.

And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about the vine and the branches.  For it seems to me that in all these things, God has a plan that is turned to my GOOD.  And the proof that I have of this, is my dear little boy, who died before he was even born, and who is my little patron saint in Heaven.

For his prayers for me (and for my children and his father) are the only hope that I have of salvation.  His little prayers for us…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.