Carey Kinsolving
“Abiding in Christ is not going outside when my mom tells me not to,” Alexandra (5).
Refusing to go outside of God’s will has everything to do with abiding in Christ.
“Abiding means you need to stay with God and listen to him. He wants us to stay with him and learn more about him. He loves us all and wants all the people to stick to him,” says eight-year-old Fayette.
Yes, God wants us to be sticky. Just as a vine receives its life from the branch, so Christians are to receive their life from God. Just listen to Peyton, 7: “You can’t have grapes without a grapevine. You can’t have apples without an apple tree. You can’t have life without God.”
Remain, a translation
“Remain” is another way to translate the word ‘abide.’
The disciples remained with Jesus for three years during his ministry.
After Jesus was crucified, Jerusalem’s leaders arrested apostles Peter and John for preaching that God had raised Jesus from the dead. When the leaders examined Peter and John and saw their boldness, “they realised they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
This kind of holy boldness is not reserved only for apostles. The same account notes that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. After Jesus returned to Heaven as the God/Man in a resurrection body, he sent the Holy Spirit to in-dwell or abide in his people.
Jesus’ Promise
Jesus promised that he would never leave anyone who has received his gift of eternal life (John 10:28). In light of such faithfulness on God’s part, John wrote: “We love him because he first loved us” (I John 4:19).
Think about this: It’s a mistake to go about daily routines and activities as though Jesus lives only in heaven. Every Christian faces the daily challenge to live by a higher life, the life of Christ.
Memorise this truth: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Ask this question: Are you drawing upon Christ or your own resources?
Carey Kinsolving is an Auckland based storywriter and the above is a part of ‘Kids Talk about God’ distributed by Creators Syndicate. To access free, online ‘Kids Color Me Bible’ books, ‘Mission Explorers’ videos and all columns in a Bible Lesson Archive, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. To read journey-of-faith feature stories written by Carey Kinsolving, visit www.faithprofiles.org; © 2017 Carey Kinsolving
Photo Caption:
Everyone is a child for Jesus Christ
