Abide To Grow

After a week on the road for school, I slipped into our building early and my kids came running. In just a few days they looked older. Distance helps you notice growth. The same is true in our souls: something is always growing, but not everything that grows is healthy. Recently I shared with Oasis Church from John 15 where Jesus says He is the vine, the Father is the vinedresser, and we are the branches. Life comes from remaining in Him, and fruit comes in season as the Father tends and prunes.

That word abide matters. Jesus does not invite us to perform for Him. He invites us to remain in Him. The New Testament warns that you can be busy with religious activity and still miss the point. Think of Martha rattling pans while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Think of the crowd that did impressive things yet never truly knew Him. The issue is not zero activity. The issue is the order of things. First, be with Jesus. Then do what Jesus leads you to do.

We also have to tell the truth about our pace. Our culture loves quick results, and quick often feels like growth. Years ago a popular supplement promised fast weight loss by speeding metabolism and cutting appetite. It worked until people began having strokes and heart problems. The ingredient was ephedrine. It made people look better in a mirror while it did damage underneath. That is what spiritual shortcuts can do. They look like progress, but they do not form Christlikeness.

So how do we grow the right way. Three simple moves can reshape a life.

Be planted: treat the church as a body you belong to, not an event you sample. Plant your life with presence, prayer, and service. Show up in the ordinary weeks, learn names, share needs, and let relationships deepen over time. Belonging forms us in ways sermons alone cannot.

Welcome pruning: God cuts away what is dead, and He also trims what is healthy so it can bear more fruit. That second part is hard. It means the Lord will revisit areas we feel strong in and ask for deeper humility, deeper honesty, and deeper generosity. If you have not sensed spiritual conviction in a long time, consider that a check engine light for the soul. Ask the Lord where He is pruning, then cooperate.

Remain in Christ: make your connection to Jesus the most important connection in your life. Let His Word set your perspective, let His Spirit check your reactions, and let His love define how you treat people who think, vote, or live differently than you. The greatest commandments still hold: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

What can we do this week in Ulysses. Read John 15 aloud and ask, where do I need to abide, where do I need to be pruned. Choose one concrete practice that keeps you planted: be present on Sunday, join a group, text a friend to pray. Make one choice that welcomes pruning: confess a habit, return a hard call, give quietly. Stay near Jesus in prayer morning and night.

Healthy growth is not hurried. It is rooted in a Person. Abide in Him, and the fruit will come in season. .

Andy McMillan is the pastor at Oasis Church in Ulysses.