At Home in Jesus

Hi, I'm Wyn Collier, and I'm reading a piece I wrote for Our Daily Bread titled At Home in Jesus. Several years ago, we brought home an adult black cat named Juno from the local animal shelter.

Truthfully, I only wanted help finning our mice population, but the rest of the family wanted a pet. The shelter gave us rigorous instructions on how to establish a feeding routine that first week, so Juno would learn our house was his home, the place he belonged and where he'd always have food and safety. This way, even if Juno might roam, he would always eventually come home. If we don't know our true home, we're forever tempted to roam in vain, searching for goodness, love, and meaning. If we want to find our true life, however, Jesus said, abide in me. Biblical scholar Frederick Del Bruner highlights how abide evokes a sense of family and home. Bruner translates Jesus' words this way, stay at home in me. To make this idea clear, Jesus used the illustration of branches attached to a vine. Branches, if they want to live, must always stay at home, tenaciously fixed, abiding where they belong. There are many voices beckoning us with hollow promises to fix our problems or provide us some new wisdom or exhilarating future. But if we're to truly live, we must remain in Jesus.

We must stay at home. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from John chapter 15, verses 1 to 11. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers.

Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Let's pray. Jesus, we like to roam.

We're pulled in all kinds of directions. But what we truly want is to stay at home with you, because you are our life. Help us to abide in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Win Collier and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.