Spiritual Maturity 5: Awareness of Christ and Holy Spirit
Psalm 121; John 15: 1-11
Very often we use the phrase “I’m here if you need me,” with friends and family. It’s a great phrase, and it’s designed to remind people that there’s a person and presence who cares for them and will provide support if needed. In years of pastoring, though, I’ve learned there are times to use that phrase and wait for the person to ask. But then, there are other times where you just know a person isn’t going to say they need you. They will suffer all the way to crisis mode before they would ever say, “I need you,” or “I need help.”
T. B. Matson addresses this as one of his principles of spiritual maturity. That principle is a consistent awareness of Christ’s presence and the Holy Spirit’s leadership in life. Do we, on a regular and continuous basis, feel the presence of Christ in our lives and let the Spirit lead us each step of our day? Jesus is not just a “call me if you need me” kind of Savior. His presence is real and powerful, and he is with us always. Jesus speaks to this in today’s gospel. He tells the disciples, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener…yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.” Christ gets to the very heart of this message quickly in verse 5: “Those who remain (or abide) in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
Those words should resonate with us, “For apart [from Christ, we] can do nothing.” Those words may sound a bit troubling on their own, but we must read them in light of another promise from Jesus. In Matthew 28:20, he says, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” In our times of helplessness, Jesus says to us that he is with us always, period, no matter what until or unto the very end of time.
That is a powerful bond. One scholar writes that the “allegory of the vine and the branches is the most complete expression of the mystical union between Christ and the Christian in this gospel.” Do we take the time, in stillness, in prayer and meditation to make ourselves aware of Christ’s presence with us? Do we pray that he is revealed to us? Are we willing to embrace the fact that humanity and specifically each one of us is helpless without that life-giving presence of Jesus with us each and every day? Embrace that idea that Christ is like the vine, and we are branches—our lives, our growth, and our existence come from the strength and nourishment we get from that vine.
But there’s another point to this marker of spiritual maturity. Along with the continuous recognition of the presence of Christ, we must also have a consistent awareness of the Holy Spirit’s leadership in our lives. The Psalm tells us, “I look to the mountains—does my help come from there?” There’s a lot of places in life we look for help and guidance. We look to doctors, but their knowledge is a gift from God. We look to friends, but in truth, it’s Jesus who wrote the book on the bond of sacrificial love. We look to a spouse, but after asking six times just to take the trash out, I’m not sure how much help is there. We sometimes look to lawyers, and for $350 per hour, which is a discount, you might find a bit of help.
But in verse 2 of the Psalm we are told, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” In greater detail, the Psalm even tells us that, “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, now and forever.” These both go hand in hand. With the presence of Christ consistently in your thoughts and lives, you will be more in tune with the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The philosopher Seneca said, “All my life, I have been trying to climb out of the pit of my besetting sins—in vain. And I never can, and never will, unless a hand is let down to draw me up.” This is true for any pit we find ourselves in through our lives. We need help, and Jesus says to us, “I’m here when (not if) you need me.” The Gospel goes on to tell us that those who do not remain in Christ wither, struggle, and eventually die.
Now, I don’t believe that with every season of struggle in your faith, there’s a ticking John 15 timebomb where you will literally die. But there is a reality to the idea that our struggles and troubles seem magnified so much worse when we find ourselves apart from Christ and against the leadership of the Holy Spirit to the very point that our souls and life of faith may wither away. The truth of our lives is that we need Christ in all times and in all ways to save us not just from sin but from ourselves as well. Jesus says to his disciples, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.” What, then, does this sense of abiding in Christ do for us?
Luther Bridgers was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in the early 1900s. After ministering in Belgium, the Czech Republic and Russia, he returned to Gainesville, Georgia. In 1910, he accepted an invitation to preach at a conference in Kentucky. He left his wife and three kids with his father-in-law and went to preach. After the two weeks of incredibly successful ministry and revival, he received a phone call with the worst news possible. A fire had killed his entire family. It’s impossible to imagine the grief he endured. However, not long thereafter, he found the faith to write the words to the hymn, “He Keeps Me Singing.” The fourth verse reads, “Though sometimes He leads through waters deep, trials fall across the way; though sometimes the path seems rough and steep, see His footprints all the way. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.”
Why does Jesus say to remain in his love? The answer is at the end of our Gospel, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” The secret to our joy and our hope in this life and the next, is tied directly to Jesus. He is the life-giving, deeply rooted vine, and we are the branches who grow and bloom forth. And so, Jesus asks us to abide in him and he will remain with us always. As we grow and mature in faith, we should become more aware of Christ with us and the Holy Spirit leading us. For in every struggle and difficulty here on earth, we can rest assured that Jesus knows our pain and says to us, “I am here when you need me.”
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1108968366519572