“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” John 15: 7. kjv.

As we journey down the final segment of resurrection road tracing the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, our minds and hearts are not only focused on our penitence but also focused on a higher level of our “abiding” in Him as well, from this point forward.

Many have fasted, sacrificed, and given up much during this season of Lent in consideration of truly “abiding” in Him at the most highest level. The gospel writer John invites us to “abide” in Him. He points us to the words of Christ., who states, “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it will be done unto you.” That scripture sounds so welcoming and also seemingly simple to achieve. However, even though it’s most desirable in a personal manner for our Christian journey, I suggest it demands much from us as Christians in order to bring it to fruition. I sense strongly that many approach “abiding” in Christ from more of one’s religion than one’s relationship with Christ. There’s a vast difference. “Abiding” demands much more than just aligning one’s self with Christ and bringing all our baggage containing our weights of sin and the likes. But abiding in Him is more receptive to those who has endeavored to embrace the abiding process after endeavoring to enter the process on Christ’s terms and not our own. Abiding actually points us to his words.

Thus, the question becomes, how do we balance or differentiate between “religion and relationship?” Toney Evans, noted preacher and author states, “A dinner plate left out overnight will be hard to clean in the morning. An alternative to scrubbing is soaking the dish in hot water and dishwashing liquid. Letting a dish abide in the solution will allow a hard cleaning job to become a lot easier. This is what abiding does for Christians. We are much easier to clean up when we’ve been hanging out in the right environment. Religion says, “Scrape off the dirt.” It tells us to apply elbow grease to fix a problem. Relationship says “Soak.” Just sit in the hot water for a while.” Thus, we should be willing to be subjected to the Lord’s soaking and cleansing process, through his words, to enjoy the true essence of “abiding” in Him. This is what creates our freedom and freeness of spirit in the body of Christ. Take time to emerge yourself in his words and his words to abide in you. Are you truly abiding in Him?

James Taylor, III is the pastor of the Jericho Baptist Church in Farmville. His email address is: jht3@verizon.net.