Listen to the unabridged sermon here: Abide - Crushing the Myths of Self, Comfort, and Speed
In our household, we have two family mottos that get repeated constantly:
- God is sovereign and good. We need this reminder often because the world is messy, tricky, and difficult.
- Reality is our friend. (Coined by my wife, Amy.) Because the world is broken, facing reality honestly—rather than living in wishful thinking—is essential.
These two principles frame Jesus’ final words to His disciples in John 15 and 16. Sitting in the Upper Room, the disciples were in a state of emotional shock. Communion was over, Judas had departed, and Jesus had just dropped the news that He was about to be executed.
Knowing their grief, Jesus offered them a foundational truth: to truly live, we must abide in His love. But to abide in Christ, we have to dismantle three common myths that poison our spiritual lives.
Myth 1: The Myth of Self
We live in a culture that worships grit, self-determination, and independence. We love the famous lines from William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
It sounds heroic, but spiritually, it’s a total lie.
Jesus directly undercuts this mindset in John 15:5: “Apart from me you can do nothing.” In the original Greek, “nothing” means nothing. You cannot build a life of eternal significance on your own hustle and determination.
The Remedy: Jesus gives us the key to staying connected to Him—keep His commands, primarily the command to love one another.
Loving God often feels relatively easy; we can pray, sing, and come to church. Loving people is where the friction happens. Deep community quickly exposes annoying habits, personality clashes, and offense. Yet, staying connected to the Vine requires putting to death the self-centered myth that we can manage life alone. You cannot pull yourself up by your own bootstraps; you need Christ, and you need His church.
Myth 2: The Myth of Comfort
A widespread misconception in the modern church is that following Jesus guarantees a smooth, pain-free life. Yet Jesus explicitly warns His followers that the world will hate them and that inconvenience, opposition, and struggle are normal parts of the journey.
Furthermore, Jesus introduces the uncomfortable reality of spiritual pruning: “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2).
Pruning hurts. When we experience seasons of trial or friction while trying to do the right thing, our knee-jerk reaction is to ask, “God, what did I do wrong? Why are You punishing me?”
Often, you aren’t being punished; you are being pruned. God, in His love, cuts back certain areas of your life so you can produce a higher yield of grace, patience, joy, and peace.
The Remedy: Do not confuse pruning with punishment, and do not expect ease from a world that rejected Christ. Sacrificial love and radical grace make a broken world uncomfortable, but they are the precise fruits we are called to bear.
Myth 3: The Myth of the Immediate
We are an instant-gratification culture. When a TV breaks, we order a new one for next-day delivery. When a person hesitates for two seconds at a green light, we hit the horn. We hate waiting.
Because of this, when trial or pain strikes, we demand immediate resolution. When relief doesn’t come instantly, we tend to numb ourselves through entertainment, alcohol, or endless distraction.
In John 16, Jesus acknowledges the disciples’ immediate sorrow over His departure, but He points them beyond the present moment: “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy… In a little while you will see me.”
Jesus offers something far better than instant circumstances-fixer: He gives us the indwelling Holy Spirit to walk with us through the wait. He closes His teaching with an decisive promise:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Notice the tense. Jesus spoke those words before the cross and resurrection, treating the victory as already finished.
Examining Your Heart
Which of these three myths is the hardest for you to let go of?
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The Myth of Self? Pray: “Lord, I stop striving on my own strength and choose to abide in You.”
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The Myth of Comfort? Pray: “Father, give me grace to submit to Your pruning and to stop fearing the world’s disapproval.”
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The Myth of the Immediate? Pray: “Jesus, help me to take heart and trust in Your finished victory over my present trial.”
God is sovereign and good, and reality is your friend. Step out of the myths, anchor yourself in the Vine, and trust the One who has already overcome the world.