To Love as the Savior

[debsuth]

I have a friend who often taught that we need not be self-reliant as much as we need to be Lord-reliant. Certainly, she understood the need for self-sufficiency but only to the point where we would remember the Lord and seek His influence in our lives. All too many times, I have neglected Him in my life, thinking I knew or had the better way. Or honestly, I probably just didn’t think to ask. (This is so vital that our children are taught how to remember Christ in their lives. In my parenting class, we have been reading a book by Gene R Cook titled, Raising up a Family to the Lord. It is fascinating! He gives such bedrock advice of how to teach children to learn from the Holy Ghost and to hear the voice of the Lord. There are many practical ideas and applications, I highly recommend it.)

 

Christ teaches He is the vine and we are His branches. With Him, we have life and without Him, we are nothing. He said, “abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:1-7). Have you ever thought about the word, abide? I always thought it meant, to stay, and it does. It means to remain, to stay.  Elder Holland describes this word a bit further in his 2004 conference talk. He teaches that in this context, the word abide would be to stay forever, to come to Christ with conviction and endurance, and to come permanently. Not only can we endure, he continues, but we can prevail and triumph in a holy cause that will never fail us.

 

We abide in Christ when we seek, ask, and show we love Him by trying to do His works. The parable of the husbandman found in John 15 allows us to see how our Father in Heaven sent many prophets to teach His children. And they learned many things, but it was not enough. He needed to send His son, Jesus Christ, who came to teach us how us to love. Elder Holland explained that Christ “came to improve man’s view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He has always and always will love them” (Grandeur of God, 2003). As we love God and daily commune with Him, we will abide in Him. Our thoughts will be turned to Him and to His Son, and we will welcome the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives. We will seek Him and plead to have the gifts of the Spirit. We will become more Lord reliant. The Spirit will teach, comfort and guide us that we will understand the way: the law and the truths we need to follow.

 

The husbandman was seeking to have a vineyard that would bear fruit. As the branches abide in the vine, they are nourished and taught the words of God. Having the fruits of the Spirit in our lives bring joy to our Father in Heaven. He delights in the righteousness of His children. As He has always loved us, He would that we might have this joy for ourselves. Sending His Son to earth to teach us so that we might have a greater love for mankind, more than ourselves, brings joy. Elder Claudio R. M. Costa counseled “we can lay down our lives for those we love not by physically dying for them but rather by living for them—giving of our time; always being present in their lives; serving them; being courteous, affectionate, and showing true love for those of our family and to all men—as the Savior taught.” Living as Christ would do if He were here is the simplest of doctrine and the most essential. Listen to the spirit in the words of a Primary song written by Sally Deford.

“If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do? Would I think of His commandments, and try harder to be true? Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?”

“If the Savior stood beside me, would I say the things I say? Would my words be true and kind if He was never far away? Would I try to share the gospel? Would I speak more rev’rently if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me?”

“He is always near me, though I do not see Him there, And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care. So I’ll be the kind of person that I know I’d like to be if I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.”

I have always loved these words, and I will continue trying to live them. Happy Easter everyone!

[Traveler]

@debsuth -  The problem with a great post is that there is very little to argue about or to add.

 

The Traveler

[The Folk Prophet]

28 minutes ago, Traveler said:

@debsuth -  The problem with a great post is that there is very little to argue about or to add.

Agreed. I did have the thought that the title of the post didn't seem to perfectly directly summarize to the topic, but it seemed a pretty silly thing to point out even.