Every once in a while, I (Jamie) hear God speaking to me, like a whisper in my head. God spoke to me yesterday and said this:
“You are in me and I in you. I am the vine and you are the branches. Remain in me and you will produce a crop.
Why have so many gone astray? So many call me Lord, yet they do not know me. If they did know me, they would turn from wickedness and follow me. As it is, they are headed for destruction.
Remain in me and I will remain in you. Together we will fulfill my calling on your life. You cannot do this without me.”
This is very similar to what Jesus said in John 15:5-8. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Remaining in God means no compromise. I think that most of us have had some compromise in our relationship with God at some point. It might be getting a new job that works on Sundays and not attending church “just until I get my foot in the door”. It might be deciding to date a non-Christian because “maybe I can save them”. Or it might be something smaller, like complaining to a coworker, even though you know the bible says not to, or spreading a juicy bit of gossip “just this once”. My personal compromise is “just one more cookie” even though I know that my body is a temple and that I should be taking care of it for my God.
The problem with compromise is that even small compromises tend to lead to more compromises (like the five cookies I ended up eating yesterday). If you’ve done something once, it becomes easier to ignore the Spirit inside of you and do it again. Every little compromise takes you one step closer to sin and one step farther away from God.
You might be wondering what all of this has to do with advent. Advent is a season of preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ. If we are prepared for Jesus to come, there cannot be any compromise. So listen to God. Remain in Him and follow Him in ALL of your ways. Show the world that you are His disciple. God has such a promise for you when you follow him. He will lead you to fulfill His glorious calling for your life. He will help you to do things that you did not even think were possible for you. And He has promised to provide you with whatever you ask as you follow after His will. Life is so much easier and more amazing with Jesus. We really cannot afford to compromise.
Words of Life 