John 15:4-5
Remain in me, as I also remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
My family is enjoying some vacation time at the beach this week. As always, it is good to get away and recharge. I don’t know how you spend your beach vacations—but as for me, I like to spend time in the sand. I like to fish a little and just relax. Life is busy for me with three active kids so I’m just fine to unwind for a week with little to nothing on the to-do list.
Today on the beach, the fish weren’t biting so I was just enjoying the sounds of the beach from the shade of my tent. I’ve been reflecting a lot on the incredible week at Caswell I was able to share with the youth group last week. The theme for the week was Remain, and it was based on the verses from John 15. Jesus tells His disciples that He is the vine, and they are the branches…that they are to remain in Him so they can bear fruit.
As I reflected on the words of Jesus and listened to the waves crash on the shore, I realized I wasn’t alone. I was sitting still enough that several small ghost crabs around me had made their way out of their “homes” in the sand to scope out the scenery.
I watched the crabs do crabs things, moving sand here and there, and challenging other crabs that came on their “lawn.” I got to thinking about how those crabs must do one thing in particular to survive—they must remain. The crab would not survive in my backyard. It would not survive in a cold environment. Its home is here at the beach, in the sand, right where God created it to be.
For us, part of remaining in Jesus means that you stay right where He created and told you to be. As believers, remaining at “home” means staying connected to the local church.
Church is our homebase. Church is where we best connect to Jesus in community.
We were made to be His church, together.
See you at home…
Prayer: God, thank you for small reminders in Your creation of Your presence in our lives. Help us to remain. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.