WITHERED BRANCHES
If a Man Abide Not in Me, He is Cast Forth as a Branch,
and is Withered; and They Gather Them, and Cast Them into the
Fire, and They are Burned--John 15:6
The lessons these words teach are
very simple and very solemn. A man can come to such a connection
with Christ, that he counts himself to be in Him, and yet he can
be cast forth. There is such a thing as not abiding in Christ,
which leads to withering up and burning. There is such a thing
as a withered branch, one in whom the initial union with Christ
appears to have taken place, and in whom yet it is seen that his
faith was but for a time. What a solemn call to look around and
see if there be not withered branches in our churches, to look
within and see whether we are indeed abiding and bearing fruit!
And what may be the cause of this
"not abiding." With some it is that they never understood
how the Christian calling leads to holy obedience and to loving
service. They were content with the thought that they had believed,
and were safe from Hell; there was neither motive nor power to
abide in Christ--they knew not the need of it. With others it
was that the cares of the world, or its prosperity, choked the
Word: they had never forsaken all to follow Christ. With still
others it was that their religion and their faith was in the wisdom
of men, and not in the power of God. They trusted in the means
of grace, or in their own sincerity, or in the soundness of their
faith in justifying grace; they had never come even to seek an
entire abiding in Christ as their only safety. No wonder that,
when the hot winds of temptation or persecution blew, they withered
away: they were not truly rooted in Christ.
Let us open our eyes and see if
there be not withered branches all around us in the churches.
Young men, whose confessions were once bright, but who are growing
cold. Or old men, who have retained their profession, but out
of whom the measure of life there once appeared to be has died
out. Let ministers and believers take Christ's words to heart,
and see, and ask the Lord whether there is nothing to be done
for branches that are beginning to wither. And let the word Abide
ring through the Church until every believer has caught it--no
safety but in a true abiding in Christ.
Let each of us turn within. Is our
life fresh, and green, and vigorous, bringing forth its fruit
in its season? (See Ps. 1:3; 92:13, 14; Jer. 17:7, 8.) Let us
accept every warning with a willing mind, and let Christ's "if
a man abide not" give new urgency to His "abide in me."
To the upright soul the secret of abiding will become ever simpler,
just the consciousness of the place in which He has put me; just
the childlike resting in my union with Him, and the trustful assurance
that He will keep me. Oh, do let us believe there is a life that
knows of no withering, that is ever green; and that brings forth
fruit abundantly!
Withered! O my Father, watch
over me, and keep me, and let nothing ever for a moment hinder
the freshness that comes from a full abiding in the Vine. Let
the very thought of a withered branch fill me with holy fear and
watchfulness.
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