Five lessons about abiding from just one chapter in Scripture
By Dean Collins
It happened just as Micah said it would happen. From the little town of Bethlehem a king would be born. And in 1868 after a visit to the Holy Land, an American Episcopal pastor wrote the familiar words to the song “O little town of Bethlehem.“ Phillips Brooks had a wonderful time traveling by horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem at night. The lights of the town of Bethlehem and the worship he experienced that evening inspired him to write this beautiful Christmas song we enjoy each year.
Bethlehem as it appeared in the lifetime of Phillips Brooks
Today our familiarity with the birthplace of Jesus is etched in our memory as much by this song as from the prophecy and even the birth narratives in the Gospels. This might suggest that how we respond to Scripture and specifically to Jesus can and does have exponential effect. I doubt Brooks ever imagined the impact his song would have.
Abiding in Christ
A disciple can have soul-stirring experiences like Brooks’s anytime, even on horseback in the night. This is because to be a disciple is to abide in Christ in and through every experience of life, not just in the magical moments of Christmas.
The apostle John reminds us what it means and what it looks like to abide in Christ. His Gospel and his epistles are filled with rich examples of abiding in Christ. To abide is more than an encounter. It is an ongoing lifestyle. In the second chapter of 1 John, the apostle teaches us at least 5 things about abiding.
1) Walk as Jesus walked (v. 6). This is not about posture. It is about presence. His presence in us demands that our behaviors reflect the behaviors of Jesus.
2) Whoever loves his brother abides in the light (v. 10). We demonstrate that we’re abiding in Christ by the way we love each other. John goes on to say that when we love each other we will have no cause for stumbling. Loving those around us keeps us from tripping over sin.
3 ) If God’s Word abides in you, you will abide in the Son and in the Father (v. 24). John says we must remember and cling to what we heard from the beginning about Jesus. During this Advent season, I am confident you are remembering the basics: God created us in his image. Our sins separate us from God. Jesus came as the light of the world to redeem us. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us. His resurrection guarantees ours. We must abide in the truth of the gospel.
4) The anointing of God’s Spirit in us teaches us God’s truth (v. 27). We hear many messages every day. Many, maybe even most, are not true. When we come to Christ we receive an anointing of God’s Spirit that lives in us. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to confirm what is true in Christ and in his Word. We must test all of the messages we hear daily by and through God’s Holy Spirit in us and by his Word.
5) When we abide in Christ we have confidence and will not hesitate when Christ appears (v. 28). Advent is not just a celebration of the birth of Christ; it is also about our eager wait for his ultimate return. Abiding in Christ gives us confidence that he will return just as he promised and that we wait confidently with no fear or hesitation.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, may the prayer expressed in this verse of Phillips Brooks's song prepare our hearts now and always.
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
Your time with God’s Word
Micah 5:2; 1 John 2:6-11, 24-28 ESV
Photo credit: Phelps, S[ylvanus] D[ryden], 1816-1895. [from old catalog], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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