In The Womb

In The Womb

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

John 15:9, ESV

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM YOU?

Some say religion. I don’t. I think we can make a better case that Jesus came to destroy religion than to establish one.

Others say it’s not religion; God wants relationship. I believe that is true. I just don’t think it goes far enough.

One time Jesus said,

I 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. If 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. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.^a

To “abide” means to live within. Jesus says he wants me to live inside him, and that he will live inside me. That sounds like more than a relationship to me.

Let’s say you interviewed a baby inside his mother’s womb and asked, “Do you have a relationship with your mother?”

I’m pretty sure the baby would give you a confused look. Babies in wombs look kind of like aliens, so you might not realize the baby looked confused, but he would.

The baby would say, “That’s a clown question, bro.” (I’m assuming babies in wombs can speak and are fully capable of making witty pop culture references.) The baby would continue, “Yes, we have a relationship, but it’s much more than that. You may have noticed that I live inside her. You may not get it, but I actually can’t live without her. I am completely dependent on her for everything that keeps me alive. Do you think I surround myself with her amniotic fluid to attract the babes?” (I’m assuming this baby is a boy, is already thinking about the opposite sex, and, to be ironic, calls the girls in other wombs “babes.”)

“So, yes,” the baby would say, “we do have a relationship, but just calling it a relationship seems to be a colossal understatement.” (I’m assuming this baby uses cool words like colossal.)

“The next time you interview a baby in a womb,” the baby would conclude, “you should ask more sensible questions. Now you’ll have to excuse me; The Maury Povich Show is about to come back on and the paternity tests are in.” (I’m assuming there are little TVs in moms’ bellies and that babies like to watch Maury Povich because he often reveals the identity of the real father.)

If you were to ask God if what he really wants is a relationship with you, I can imagine him saying, “That’s a clown question, bro. I mean, yes, I guess it is a relationship, but did you catch the part where I said I want us to live inside each other? Call it what you want, but what I’m inviting you into is much more than a relationship. I’m offering to be the womb you exist within, and the blood that flows through your veins. I want to be the umbilical cord that brings you the fluids that sustain you, and I want to be those fluids that sustain you. What I want is for you to get lost inside of me, and I want to be lost inside of you. My desire is for us to be one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go; Happy Days is on.” (I’m assuming there’s a big TV in heaven and that God likes to watch Happy Days.)

What God was describing before he started watching TV, that’s what we need. Relationships are nice, but they’re off and on; we move in and out of them. We need something deeper with God, something more constant.

We need that because we were made for it. Without it, we have a sense of emptiness.

We also need it because it’s the only way we can live the life we were meant to live. Remember, we were meant to be like Jesus, to live holy lives. We would be incapable of that on our own, but we have God living inside us (and at the same time, we get to live inside him). God’s abiding in us is what allows us to live like him.

God has offered to abide in us. We need to make sure we’re abiding in him. Jesus didn’t say, “As you abide in me.” He said, “If you abide in me.” We have a choice. And he told us to make the right one: “Abide in my love.”

What would it look like to abide in Jesus?

I think it’s about:

• Getting other things out of the way, so I can let God have his way in me.
• Pouring my heart out to God and letting God pour his love into me.
• Trusting that if I have Jesus and nothing else, I have everything I need.
• Giving top priority to God instead of to the preponderance of other things.
• Giving up control and giving God control.

Tomorrow we’ll think more about how we can get to that place.

Now What?

• Read Matthew 11:28-29.
• God invites us to come to him so we can lay down our burdens and rest. What burdens are weighing you down?
• What would it look like for you to give those burdens to God in prayer? Try it.