Where do you live? What difference does it make? My friend Eddy once told me he lived in twenty-five different houses when he was growing up. I have a similar number in my lifetime. When Melanie and I married, moving came easily to me. She had the strange idea that we should stay in one place. So for the last twenty-five years, we have. Even here, though, we have lived in four different houses. Thankfully, we are approaching twenty years at our current home.
When John’s two disciples followed Jesus, early in John’s gospel, the Lord asked them, “What do you want?” “We want to see where you live,” they answered. So he showed them, and they stayed with him in his staying place, and then moved with him everywhere he went. Now Jesus was about to go away. Where would they stay after he was no longer with them physically? Jesus invited them to “stay,” “remain,” “abide,” in him.
The Psalmist said, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” Paul told the philosophical folks of Athens, “In God we live, move, and have our being.” What if we fulfilled Jesus’ teachings? Jesus promises that abiding in him will make us productive like a fruitful branch of a vine. If we abide in him, we will find answers to our prayers. But if we remained in Jesus, where would we stay? In his love. Let’s live this Christmas day as those whom God loves. Let’s abide in him today, bear much fruit that lasts, and find answers to our prayers.
