Another way of explaining the importance of abiding in Jesus Christ today.

     **Architecture, see footnote 3.

    On my first interview applying for Starbucks, I discovered that they not only serve coffees but also teas. From then I tend to order herbal teas during flu season for prevention and treatment. Mixtures of different teas are not uncommon in Starbucks' ethos, thus medicine ball had been re-invented on a number of iterations. In recent years due to aging and work routines, Chamomile tea is my regular for two reasons: it is decaf and helps you to get better sleep. Yesterday, I just learned 2 methodologies on how to drink tea.

    One is what people coined as the "dippers". They tie the teabag in the spoon and constantly dip up and down the tea in the hot water. The other one is just putting the teabag in the hot water and letting time and inertia be your allies. The dippers involve more effort and minor increments of time outside the hot water. Compared to the latter where we naturally let the tea bag be totally soaked in hot water being absorbed. It remains in the water. It stays in the water. It abides in the water.1

    "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."2 - John 15:4

    Jesus asks his disciples to abide in him. To say and remain in his presence. In order for his disciples to bear fruit, they have to abide in him. To taste a certain tree is to taste its fruits. If they don't have fruit it's either they are not fully grown yet or they are dead. Once the fruit appears we still have to wait until it's fully ripe. Picking and tasting the fruit too early comprises its integrity of the potential of its sweetness and taste. In order for the fruit to reach the pinnacle of its purpose of existence, it has to stay and remain connected to the vine.

    The problem with the dippers is that there are frequent times they lose the connection to the water instead of letting the tea bag sleep and abide in the water. When it comes to abiding in Jesus are we also a dipper?

Footnotes:

1 Cunanan, Fer. Abide, Week 1: The Power and Beauty of God's Word. Sermon at ENCM, Mississauga, ON, February 6, 2022.

2 BibleHub. https://biblehub.com/john/15-4.htm (Accessed on February 7, 2022)

3 These are some collections of thoughts and reflections in my notes during the service. Not intended for formal essays, blogs, or academic writing.

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