With gratitude to John the Divine

Remain in Me, and I will 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 (Jn. 15:4).

Jesus is speaking to His disciples at the Last Supper, the Passover.  He knew that the time of His death was at hand, and these were His last words.  His last instruction was simply to "remain in Him," and they would bear fruit "that would remain." 

Looking back now through 2000+ years of history, we can marvel at how the fruit of the disciples has "remained" to inspire all nations on earth.  The words of Pythagorus and of Plato have dimmed with time and are studied now only by scholars and philosophers, but the words of unlettered and untaught fishermen who had no interest or background in philosophy have come down through all ages and cultures and still breathe life into each generation that follows. 

We call the Apostle John, "John the Divine" because his Gospel soars above the other three.  But we forget that brothers James and John were found by the Sea of Galilee, mending their nets with their father.  They were called by Jesus "Sons of Thunder" because of their active and passionate natures---but John's Gospel speaks of things more sublime than the words of any Greek philosopher.  His "fruit," like that of all the other disciples, still remains today.

Jesus told His disciples that He was the vine and that His Father was the gardener Who "cuts off every branch that bears no fruit...and trims clean every branch that does bear fruit."  But He went on to tell them that they were "already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."  In the Book of Ephesians, Paul was to advise husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and "gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word...(Eph. 5:26).

In the beginning of his Gospel, John tells us that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God----and to all who received Him, he gave the right to become children of God...born of God.

Just as at the beginning of time, the Word of God entered into the dark and formless abyss, bringing light, order, beauty, and harmony, bringing into existence all things ("fruit" that remained), so has the Word of God entered into our sinful and disordered, chaotic, lives to rearrange, wash, and cleanse us that we become children of light and truth.  If we remain in the Word of Truth, we will bear much fruit, as did John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Stephen---and all those throughout history who were cleansed by the washing with water through the Word. 

Jesus said both "remain in Me and I will remain in you," and 'if my words remain in you...."   Knowing this, shouldn't we be at least as respectful, attentive and absorbing of the Word of God as we are to the Boston Symphony, or to the Broadway theater, or to a movie?  These things, great as they are, will fade away, but the Word of God will stand forever.  Those things may impress us for awhile,  but the Word of God can cleanse our minds, heal our souls, and lead us into eternity.