It has been popularly suggested that the word, ‘Christian’ can be explained as, ‘Without C.H.R.I.S.T. – I.A.N. – I Am Nothing’. But it is more than a nice wordplay.
Jesus said in John 15:5, ‘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.’ This is not a cursory comment, advice, suggestion, or recommendation. It is a directive to abide in Christ as this word is repeated 10 times in the first ten verses.
In the parable of the Sower, we have four illustrations. Some seeds fall on the pathway and immediately die. Some fall on rocky ground and grow fast but without depth. Some fall on thorny ground, where the cares of the world puncture their vitality. Some fall on good soil, resulting in growth reaching 100-fold, 60-fold, and 30-fold. To achieve this, our connectivity with Christ is a necessity.
‘It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like his. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like his.’ (William Temple).
Without Christ – I Am Nothing. But by abiding in Christ, ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ (Phil 4:13).
Richard Lai
