Abide in His Love

By Pastor Steve Pierce

The Bible uses a few words that we don’t tend to use much anymore. Abide is one of those words. The Apostle John liked to use this word and did more than any other writer in the Bible.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you ABIDE in my words, you are truly my disciples.”” (John 8:31, ESV)

What is this “abide” (μένω) word? The Hebrew word is pronounced men-o. Here in this verse, there is a clear meaning of action and continuation. Before this verse, earlier in this chapter, Jesus had been teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. He was confronted by Pharisees about a man and woman caught in adultery. He proclaims the sovereignty of God the Father and tells those listening that he was sent by the Father to be the Light of the World. A lot is happening. And through this, there are people who are giving their faith and lives to Jesus. They are rejecting the darkness they have walked in up until then, for the Light of the World has been revealed in Truth.

Maybe those hearing Jesus speak quickly knew what abide meant and what Jesus was telling them. You tell me to sit and I sit because there is no ambiguity in the word. It could have been that simple for Jesus’ contemporaries. But we have to kind of ponder the word for a second. Is it as simple as to remain in a relationship? Maybe abide means to remain at a place? Or to endure or survive? Could it mean to wait and slow down? Or maybe it could mean that we are being held by something bigger than ourselves? We are kept, secured? In fact, in can mean all these definitions.

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10

Jesus adds great clarity to his message later in the Book of John. Abide in my words means to follow them. Jesus is telling these new Christians to trust in what He is teaching them and to let his lessons change how they act toward God, toward others, towards Him. Just hearing the Lord’s words is not abiding. Letting them change you is abiding in Him. Giving control of your life to Jesus is abiding in Him.  And look at the consequence of abiding. You will abide in His love. By living a life that tries to please Jesus, there is love to be found and it’s the same love that Jesus abides in from his own Father. Yes please, I’ll take that!

Abiding in God’s love means, remaining in it, safe and secure in it, enduring life’s difficulties surrounded by it. It’s a love that does not fail or change. It is constant and you are invited to share in it. Love is a verb. It is action. It comes from one source, God, and it is being offered to you. Don’t think it will end, don’t think this love is fickle and you must earn it. Don’t think you can lose it.  Abide it in faith and put that faith into action and watch the world change. In the name of Jesus.