My daily devotional this year is reading through John’s gospel, with my friend Dale Bruner’s commentary as my companion and conversation partner (The Gospel of John: A Commentary [Eerdmans, 2012]).
Recently, I arrived at the very first passage I memorized after I became a serious Christian during college, only with a fascinating, up to the moment twist. As Bruner translates it
Make your home with me as I am with you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it makes its home with the root (and trunk), no more can you bear fruit unless you make your home with me.” (John 15:4)
We are used to hearing the Greek word menein translated as “abide,” i.e. “Abide with me as I abide with you.” But since abide or abode are rarely used in normal speech, Bruner brings it into everyday conversation as “make your home with.”
What does it mean to ‘stay at home’ with Jesus?
For a good portion of my life, I read “abide with me” and only heard a command.
However, I slowly realized that Jesus always takes the initiative in his relationships. Theologically, God’s initiative of grace always precedes our response of faith.
Just as Jesus takes the initiative by first washing his disciples’ feet, so Bruner suggests:
“Jesus is not just a passive inviter, awaiting our move before he makes his; he has already made his move and therefore would very much like ours: [he says] “I very much want to live with you.”
He has made the first move to make his home with us. What good news this is!
How, then, do we respond to “make our home” with him?
Bruner lists Jesus’ many uses of menein throughout the gospel of John to show us how Jesus practically invites us “make our home” with him. Connecting these dots results in a fascinating picture! (I use Bruner’s translations below, where he consistently translates menein as “make your home.”)
1. We make our home with Jesus by responding to his invitation to “Come and See”
In the first occasion of menein, John the Baptist points his own disciples toward Jesus. They leave John, begin to literally follow Jesus and ask him, “Rabbi, where are you making your home?” Jesus replies, “Come and see.” We then read,
For some, it was a climatic life change; for many others, it was a slow process of growing awareness. Whether fast or slow, eventually we were convinced that Jesus really is worthy of our trust, and we staked our lives on his Lordship over us.
I’ve learned that it is impossible to intellectually argue anyone into trusting Jesus. No, it’s far better to simply invite them “come and see.”
I’ve invited many to just read one gospel like John or Mark, i.e. an experiment to “make their home” with him and discover for themselves what Jesus is all about. Good preaching does the same–lifting up Jesus in a casual way that invites people to “come and see.”
2. We make our home with Jesus in the Lord’s Supper…and more widely in worship
The next discipleship use of menein happens in John 6:36:
As a younger disciple, I saw the Lord’s Supper mostly as a religious ritual. Sadly, even as a younger pastor I at times rued our Communion Sundays because they called for shorter sermons on my part!
As I’ve grown older, I have less and less trust in my own willpower to follow Jesus. I more and more I realize my faith is God’s gift, not my personal achievement. My value of the Lord’s Supper in my life has correspondingly increased. I now seek it out whenever I can, including attending a weekly 8:00am communion service at my local Episcopal church.
In taking Communion, I am powerless to do anything but simply receive. Each time I walk forward to be served, it’s as if Jesus is saying, “I know you’re not worthy, but you still have a home with me.”
3. We make our home with Jesus by making our home in his Word
The next use of abide/menein is Jesus’ promise
Making our home in Jesus Word is a beautiful image, and we do so when we:
- Read and meditate on it ourselves
- Hear it publicly preached and taught
- Discuss it within our households or small groups
4. Finally, we make our home with Jesus by keeping his commands, especially to love one anothe
When you (want to) keep my commands, you will be making your home in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and am making my home in his love.” (John 15:9-10)
Bruner opened my eyes by beginning his translation: “Just as much as the Father loved me–there! That is how much I have loved you.”
Once again, Jesus’ love for me comes first. If, as Jesus invites me, I “simply make my home in this special love of mine,” I can relax! It’s no longer about me proving my adequacy. If I ‘stay at home’ with Jesus, when I walk out the front door of that home, I will hopefully take a little of his love into the world with me.
For Bruner, it’s like breathing:
“The inhaling of an undeserved divine love for ourselves and the exhaling or our all-too-human but still well-intended love for others–this is the breathing exercise all disciples try to practice every day.”
Put it all together and a process emerges:
- exploring who Jesus is and how he acts by visiting him “at home” (come and see)
- accepting his invitation to “make our homes with him” through his Word and the Lord’s Supper (and worship generally)
- absorbing the “atmosphere” inside Jesus’ home (love) simply by being at home with him and taking it with us as we engage the people around us.
Might the current disruptions of our lives give this different “stay at home” calling even greater urgency?
