Last Sunday, Pastor Carness shared his scripture verse for 2024, which is John 8:12. This is something that he has challenged each of us at Christ Church to do. Since this is my first blog of the year, I thought it appropriate that I share my verse for 2024, also from the book of John, which reads:

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 branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. —John 15:4-5, NIV

Okay, I realize that my verse for 2024 is two verses. Yet, the Holy Spirit laid these words of Jesus on my heart in early December.

The key word in these verses is “remain,” or “abide” in some translations. The only way a branch receives the pulsating life of the vine is to remain connected to it. Likewise, as disciples, we receive the pulsating life of the Spirit through persistent reliance upon Christ. Now, if you are like me, this persistent reliance doesn’t come naturally. There is much in me that strives to rely on self, other people, and other things as opposed to relying upon Jesus. Remaining in an ongoing, growing relationship with Jesus takes intentionality on our part. The good news is that we never need worry about Jesus’ intentionality to remain in us. His faithfulness remains constant.

I’ve been thinking about these verses from John 15 in terms of legacy since my dad’s passing in early December. My dad struggled for the last several years of his life with some tremendous losses and multiple complicated health issues. And yet, he did not let that steal his joy. Our last family gathering with him was at Thanksgiving at my brother’s house in Jonesboro. He felt well enough that day for me to pick him up at his home and bring him to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a challenge to get him in the house and get him to where he could sit at the table with all the family. Despite the challenges, he radiated one the key fruits of abiding in Jesus; “joy.” Joy is something my dad continuously displayed throughout his life but seemed to do even more so as his health declined. On the day of his funeral, we all made a toast remembering his joy.

How is it possible to radiate the fruit of joy when the losses in life mount? By abiding in Jesus. One of the intentional ways my dad remained in Jesus was through the spiritual practice of regularly reading and praying scripture. The best gifts my dad left me are two of his Bibles thoroughly underlined and with numerous notes in the margin. On the front of the one of those Bibles my dad taped two post-it notes with the following scripture from Isaiah 43:

Fear not… you are mine… I will be with you when you pass through the waters; the rivers will not flow over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor scorched by flames. For I am the Lord your God. The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. —Isaiah 43:1b-3a, Dad’s translation.

My dad knew that whatever hardship he might face (and there were many!), he would not face it without the presence of the Lord. For him, that was enough. His joy was found in the person of the eternal Jesus and he was not consumed by the momentary afflictions in life. He remained connected to the One who gave him constant joy. That’s the legacy I want to leave. A legacy where those who have known me and loved me are toasting the joy Christ has given me because I chose to abide in Him and knew without a doubt that He abided in me.