Jeans vs. Purse

Are you a jeans Christian or a purse Christian?

If you are a jeans Christian, then you read John 15:4 like this: "Abide in Me and I in you."

But if you are a purse Christian, you read it like this: "Abide in Me and I on you."

Here's the difference: If you are a jeans Christian, you understand that your life it hidden in Christ and that no matter where you go, what you do or say, Jesus is with you. He is an irremovable part of your life (yes, the word is "irremovable" and if I made it up, I think you get the picture).

If you are a purse Christian, you put Jesus on and off in your life. Oh, He is with you always, but you don't live a life that wants Him around all the time. Like at sporting events - a lot of us leave Him home for those. Or during ugly conversations with our spouse or when gossiping about a neighbor - then His presence is no where to be found. And sometimes we forget to put him on. We get busy and suddenly realize that we haven't spent time in His Word or talked to Him for days.

Why jeans or purse? you ask. Well, let's picture it this way. See the woman in the picture above? Let's say she is heading to a restaurant to have lunch with a friend. That morning, she put on her lovely black skinny jeans, her casual tee shirt and topped it off with a stylish blazer. As she ran out the door, she grabbed her purse. She made a few stops on her way to lunch, filling her car with gas, picking up the dry cleaning, and stopping by the post office for a roll of stamps. But by the time she gets to lunch, what are the odds she's lost her skinny jeans?

How ridiculous, you say. Her jeans are exactly where they should be! She is in them, therefore they go wherever she goes.

But the purse...now that's something she could lose. She could set it down anywhere - at the cleaners, at the post office, on top of her car - she could even leave it in the car during lunch.

If you are a jeans Christian, not only are you abiding in Christ, but He is in you as well. There is no separating the two of you. But if you are a purse Christian, then you may think that you abide in Him, but in actuality He just sits on your shoulder, and the risk of forgetting Him somewhere is great. You can set Him down and walk away without blinking an eye. You may purposefully put Him on Sunday mornings and then leave Him in the closet the rest of the week. Or you may just forget Him.

Abide in Me and I in you - permanent, consistent, purposeful, relational, irremovable.

(It's my word and I'm sticking with it.)