“⁵I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15)

Such were the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion.

Before we discuss what Jesus means by “abide,” let’s make sure we’re clear on the “Me.” He refers, of course, to Himself. This is where some get confused, seeking to abide not in our Lord and Savior but instead in a political idealogue. In so doing, they compromise their faith by trusting a demigod to assuage their fears rather than putting their trust in God.

Jesus, however, is beseeching his faithful to dwell in close relationship with HIM, to trust in HIM, and to remain obedient to HIM. His use of a metaphor of a vine (HIM) and its branches (us) teaches that we remain fruitful only when we live connected to the vine.

If we truly seek to abide in Christ and be fruitful, there are hard questions that we must ask of ourselves:

Do I trust in the Lord continually or only when it does not conflict with political expediency?

Am I obedient to His teachings – including those that implore His disciples to hate evil, love good, be merciful, welcome the sojourner, and pursue truth, justice, humility and compassion…or do I rationalize the vindictiveness, greed, infidelity and heresy of a false shepherd?

Do I defend the indefensible?

If your political loyalties supersede biblical truth, you have disconnected from the True Vine. To remain tethered to the Vine – to ABIDE in Christ – you cannot compromise core Christian values to justify behavior and rhetoric that directly contradict the Word of God.

If you profess your Christianity – and I assume that you do as a reader of this blog – do not exchange the fruitfulness of love, gentleness and truth for hate, division and self-centeredness. You otherwise compromise the ability of true disciples to effectively share the Gospel because the world sees the hypocrisy of your commitment to a political idol rather than the Kingdom of God.

More problematic for you is that God also sees it.