An Attempt to Follow

We attempt many things. I have attempted to be a "blogger", but as you can see, I haven't really kept up with it that much. I have attempted to be a good husband, but my wife must give you her objective opinion on how that has turned out. I have also attempted to be a good father to my son. As my evangelism professor said in seminary, "If you want to know if I am a good father, wait and see how my grandchildren turn out." So, we are at least 35 years away from knowing the answer to that.

Mankind has attempted many things as well. We attempted at one point to build a tower to heaven and God not only toppled it, but also confused the languages of the people. We attempted to go to Mars, but a space rover was all we could muster. We have attempted to create a free society with the America experiment, but oppression still lingers. Attempts are made at just about everything.

In the church, we attempt to follow the Lord. Jesus says in John 15.4, "Abide in me, and I in you. 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. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing" (ESV). Abiding in Jesus is not exactly easy. We are called to follow Him, so we attempt it. But, if you are anything like me, it isn't exactly abiding and following. A couple of weeks ago I was in Fort Worth, TX for a doctoral seminar and we were having student preaching on the book of Hebrews. One of my colleagues made the statement that in his life it was often more of a "Christian skip" than a "Christian walk." Those who have been involved in a church for any amount of time are more than likely familiar with that terminology.

The truth is, it is hard for us in 2011 America with more distractions than we know how to handle to be able to abide in Christ. The word "abide" literally means "to remain" or "stay put" or "dwell". Our dwelling place is to be Jesus Christ, Himself. What a paradigmatic thought! We are to make Christ our way of life. It's not just following Him or worshiping Him or any other church colloquialism. It is that He is the way we live our life. Did you catch the outcome of this "abiding"? We are given the ability to do things for His glory. He says, "apart from me, you can do nothing." I don't know about you, but I don't want to be known for doing nothing. I want to be known for doing something. Something that only God can do. That's what happens when we abide in Him. He does something through us and in us that can only be explained by His activity.

So, what do we make of our attempts to follow? Why don't we look at Jesus Christ as our way of life? Then, we might see that our attempts are no longer futile, but fruitful.

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