I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit for apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5 (ESV)

 

The Christian life begins with living in Christ and continue with Christ. It is a continuous journey of receiving life from Jesus and growing with Him. Thus, the life of the Christian is more about living from God than living for God.

Christ invites us into a living and loving relationship that gives us the ability to bear fruit. We don’t have to earn our place with God. When we receive Christ, it is through the power of God that we become one with Him. We don’t need keep trying to “get into Christ” because God has already done it for us. We just have to remain, abide.

Abiding in Christ involves fully trusting and depending on Him to complete what He has started to do within us. As we abide in Him, we are filled with the overflowing power of His life-giving Spirit to live a fruitful and productive life.

The fullness of your life in Christ fuels your service for Him. Ministry stress and burnout happens not because you are doing too much but because you are receiving so little from Christ. Many hide their burnout out of fear, not realising that they don’t have pay such a high and unnecessary price for serving God.

Bear in mind, God does not judge our busyness. When we place all our focus on doing, even if they are good things, we behave like the rich young ruler who wanted to live a life for God, but not from God. He thought he was prepared to do anything until he couldn’t handle the demand. On the other hand, the disciples of Jesus ended up doing incredible things in spite of their shortcomings because they simply follow Jesus.

When we recognize that the presence and power of Christ is already present and actively working within us, we are free to bear fruit to the glory of God.