Hidden

I saw an old house once that was completely covered in kudzu. It had been long ago abandoned and was now completely hidden. The kudzu had taken over this home that surely was once lived in. My first thought about this was how sad, that someone just let this home go. Then as I looked at it through God's eyes, I saw something totally and wonderfully beautiful.

Colossians 3:1-3 says
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Just like this old house was completely hidden in kudzu, so should we be completely hidden in Christ. Yes, hidden in Him so much that others see Him when they look at us, hear Him when we speak. This house had no doubt been abandoned and we are to abandon ourselves. We are to abandon our flesh, our own desires, our own wills to seek His desires and His will. 

Kudzu is a type of vine. Jesus said He is the vine. Jesus wants to completely consume and overtake us if we will allow Him. 

We must remain, abide, dwell in Him. In John 15:5 Jesus says  " 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."

Our boys used to hang and swing on this one branch of a tree in our yard. Over time this branch began to bend downward. One day, I noticed the tree was full of leaves except for this one branch. Closer inspection revealed that it had become detached from the trunk. It appeared to still be apart of the tree but it had lost its life support. We are like this branch when we disconnect from Jesus, when we do not abide and remain in Him. 

This life He gave me is about Him, not me. No one may ever notice or care about what we do and the sacrifices we make, but that's ok because we live unto Him and for His glory not our own. Actually if we do this life right, "we" won't be noticed but "HE" will be! And anyway HE sees all we do and HE sees me and you. Every little thing we do matters to Him. The best place to be is hidden, yes hidden in our Jesus. I desire to be so hidden and intertwined in Him that others see Him instead of me! The only way to be hidden in Jesus is to abide, remain, and stay in Him. To stop trying to do life on our own. To stop chasing after what we want.

If you're going to stay anywhere in this life, stay in Jesus. If you're going to be overwhelmed in this life, be overwhelmed in who our Savior is. If you're going to be overtaken in this life be overtaken by His amazing love. Stay hidden. Hidden in Him.