I’ve been reading through the Gospel of John recently, and over the past little while I’ve been struck by something I’ve read multiple times before in chapter 15.
Jesus is speaking to his disciples right before he is about to be taken away and crucified, and he says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Only a few sentences before, Jesus says, “Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
These are pretty weighty words. If it is true that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, Jesus just gave us a peak into what glorifying God looks like.
Abide in Jesus + Jesus abide in you = Bearing fruit
Bearing fruit = Glorifying God
The questions therefore is how do we abide in Christ and have Him abide in us so that we can bear fruit and thereby glorify God? Well, to abide means to remain, to reside, to dwell. The first thing that comes to mind for me when Jesus says to, “Abide in Him” dwelling on the words of Jesus. This is why the Bible is such an amazing, mind-blowing gift from God. We get to know Him through His revelation of Himself to humanity.
If you want to glorify God, start by dwelling deeply in His word.
Here are some resources to help with this:
- Heart devotions and Bible study
- 18 tricks to memorize Scripture
How amazing that by truly reading and understanding the Bible, then living that out, we can glorify God and achieve our highest joy?!
R.O.O.
