okay, first of all, the word abide - not a word we use in any context other than john 15. what does it mean? live, dwell. niv uses remain. continue. Jesus uses the context of plant life. not connected, dead. connected alive and bearing fruit. if we are connected, we bear much fruit, we can do anything. if we are not connected, we are good for nothing but to be burned up, and can do nothing.
now, about my phone. i have a new phone. it's a blackberry curve. a "crackberry". purple.
i am connected to the internet, to my e-mail, to my friends and family via the miracle of texting. i can take a picture and send it, check any stupid thing posted on facebook - i am connected. i am, um, abiding.
i can't be the first to have considered this. abiding, connected. i attend to my phone because it dings at me all the time. Jesus doesn't ding. well, not in the same way. there are, arguably, little dings that can draw me to Him. pain. hunger. need. for my mom (who is, admittedly, a little weird) a paper clip or a piece of glitter remind her of Jesus.
brother lawrence was a cook in a monestery who "practiced the presence" of the Lord. he knew Jesus was with him all the time, and that he generally wasn't aware of it (see also, Jacob). so he deliberately worked on being aware of the presence of God.
so here is my desire:
to be more connected to my Jesus than i am to my phone.
whew! there, i said it.
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