John 8:31-38 reads:
‘So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to
anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are
offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”‘
This month of October we are focusing on Discipleship as Gracious women.
As we have been studying what Jesus had to say on the matter and looking at the lives of his disciples, we have been challenged to assess ourselves and reflect on whether we are disciples or followers. Before this , if someone had asked me if I was a disciple, I would have answered immediately without hesitation with a “yes .” However now I am re- thinking if I can answer it so confidently.
Jesus used the word abide in the above scripture when talking about disciples being ones who abide in his word.
The word itself as described by the Webster dictionary, Abide means “to be able to live with or put up with.”
If you can’t abide with something, it means you can’t stand it. If you can abide by it, it means you can live with it.
Can we safely say we abide in the Word of God? Are we living by the Word of God in its entirety or do we take the bits we like at times only and form our way from that? It seems to be a requirement for a disciple that Jesus outlined.
The multitude Jesus spoke to at the time believed that they were sons of Abraham and therefore had nothing to worry about in the way they lived or how they walked daily. However Jesus pointed out that they did not have the word in them.
As I write this, I have tears in my eyes. I am moved to tears because what a shame it would be to have attended church for so many years, attended conference after conference, read my Bible daily, prayed and to even write regularly on this blog page; yet not have the Word of God in my heart. What will be the point? What would I have purposed my life to be?
Scripture tells us that it was the Pharisees that planned and schemed to have Jesus killed on the cross, it was one of Jesus’s own twelve disciples, Judas that helped plan to make it possible. (Luke 22:4-6)
The Pharisees were men who believed that they knew the Word of God so well and that they were living right. Judas walked with Jesus for 3 years, saw with his own eyes; the blind seeing, the lame being able to walk and heard countless words taught by Jesus and yet he still betrayed Him.
Can I encourage us to reflect if we really abide in His Word. Is the Word of God sealed in our hearts? Not merely head knowledge, not merely quoting what we hear famous preachers say or what we see and hear on social media or a sermon preached at church. In Acts 17:11 we read:
“Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
They wanted more than just stories, they searched the scripture for themselves.
Jesus said I only do and say what I see my Father do. This not only offended some but others were perplexed. That need not be with us as believers. Instead let this be our heart cry; to see our Father daily, to hear and obey His voice, to live by His Word. Then and only then can we be His disciples.
An orange tree can only bear oranges, right ?
What is in us will be evident by our fruit;
What are you bearing today and everyday?
