Abiding in His Love This Easter Season

Mar 13 2025 Abiding in His Love This Easter Season

Abide (verb) synonyms: remain, dwell, cling, stay, hang on

Meriam-Webster Online

From ages 7 to 9, my youngest son had his own garden. We have pictures of Micah holding massive zucchini, gorgeous carrots, and colorful flowers. It was a delight for him to get his chubby hands dirty by sowing the seeds and then watching them grow to fruition as the months passed.

In his first year as a gardener, he cut the not-quite-ready veggies off the vines and replanted them in the ground, thinking they would grow quicker. Micah learned it doesn’t work that way; the veggies rotted, never becoming edible. In the following years, he let nature do what nature does.

During this experience with Micah, I couldn’t help but think of the metaphor Christ gave us in John 15. If you’ve spent time in church, you’ve probably heard many times about the vine and branches. If you are like me, a significant truth can lose its power after hearing it repeatedly.

With the arrival of Lent, I’ve been thinking about abiding. Abide is my word of the year and my focus for this season.

So, I’m looking at this passage from John with fresh eyes as I picture Jesus speaking these words, “I am the Vine,” to His friends gathered around Him. This was a group living on an agricultural land who saw vines and crops on their daily trek. This was the last of Christ’s seven “I AM” proclamations made about Himself, voiced only days before His crucifixion.

Jesus wanted His followers then (and now) to know that we are intimately attached to Him as the branches of a vine are attached to their stem. Therefore, our yearning to know and love Him and the strength to serve Him will continue to course into and through us only as we abide in Him.

“Abide in me,” He summons. Will we accept His invitation?

If we accept, how do we abide in our Savior?

Through the Holy Spirit, often called “The Helper” (John 14:16-17).

Jesus told us the gift of the Holy Spirit would empower us to hold close to our Savior. Next, we cultivate a deep, ongoing relationship with God. This is not struggling or striving. It is not a passive acceptance of the invitation or a one-time commitment but a daily choice to stay rooted in Him.

Some practical ways I practice abiding in my Savior during this Easter season:

• Make time for daily connection with God a priority: prayer, worship, and reading (Mark 1:35, Psalm 5:3)
• Meditate on scripture: we allow it to transform our thoughts and guide our actions. (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:15)
• Abide by time in prayer and listening to God: as we sit quietly, we are positioned to hear what He has for us. (Proverbs 8:34, Isaiah 55:3, John 10:27)
• Spend time in community: attend church, a small group, and serve others. (Matthew 18:20, Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Hebrews 10:24-25)
• Practice obedience: in John 15:10 (NASB), Jesus says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” (Also see John 14:23, 1 John 5:3)
• Rest in His love and grace: Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He invites us to rest in the sufficiency of His grace. (Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:16)

Like the vegetables in Micah’s garden, our abundance depends on our attachment to the True Vine. As you go about your day, remember to hang on to Him; He will equip you to live with purpose, peace, and power in this season of Lent and beyond.

“Christ is the Vine, and we are the branches. A branch can do nothing of itself; it is wholly dependent upon the Vine for life. The true Christian life is one of total dependence upon Christ, in which the believer bears fruit not by striving, but by abiding.”

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God