Dwelling in Jesus

Readings:
II Kings 5
John 15:1-10

Focus:
John 15:5b:"Anyone who dwells in me, as I dwell in him, bears much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

We want to be good people. We want to do what is right and to live good lives. But we can't do that on our own. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

Moreover, if we don't dwell in him, we are barren of goodness, like withered branches, much like Elisha's servant Gehazi. Gehazi thought he could secretly get some of the bounty that Naaman had brought with him to reward Elisha for curing him of leprosy, so, even though Elisha had turned it down, he lied to Naaman about it and ended up getting some of it. But Elisha knew about the lie, and Gehazi ended up punished. Gehazi was not dwelling in God's ways, and this was the result.

No, if we want to be better people, if we want to live good lives, we need to dwell in Jesus.