Abide

When I think of what it means to abide, I think of families living under one roof. I think of the intimacy between a husband and a wife. I think of the close connection between friends. I think of walking side by side with the one I love. It's when you love someone so much, you want them to be so close to you that they become a part of you - so you can breathe them in and carry them inside you, wherever you go. This is what abiding means to me, and when I look at 1st John there are a few key principles that relate to this when it comes to what it means to abide with God.

God’s Word in me

Our closeness to God begins with having His word in our hearts and minds.

“Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.” 1John 2:24

Jesus talks about this abiding/dwelling of his words in us in the most profound way in John 15:5-7

“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast out as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:5-7

Abiding in Christ is like being a branch connected to a vine - it's where your sustenance comes from and where your strength lies. If a branch is somehow disconnected from the vine, it becomes useless and eventually dies. For us, Jesus is our true vine. As branches that stem from him, when we disconnect from him, spiritually we die. We are cut off from our source of nourishment. We can no longer operate in his power, his peace, his love because he no longer flows through us.

As such, abiding goes beyond just having God’s word inside us to accepting Jesus as our Saviour and becoming closely aligned and connected with him.

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." 1John 4:15

Jesus is the 'word made flesh'. He was and is the embodiment of God. He portrayed everything that God was but in a tangible, real way. Jesus is the ultimate reality of God's word dwelling with us and in us in every way. Jesus is our link to the Father. He is the Vodafone to our mobile, the big pond to our Internet connection; and while we cannot see him, he is there. Undoubtedly.

God’s ways in me

Secondly, to abide with God is to do the will of God and follow His commands. In doing this we are able to see God in us and God in others.

"Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." 1John 3:24

"And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1John 2:17

The closer we get to the Father and to Christ, the more Godly our desires become and the more we come to love what God loves and as a result, we will want to follow His commands: - not just out of obligation but out of hearts filled with love for a Father who loves us beyond comprehension - for a Father who wants to protect us.

God’s righteousness in me

Thirdly, to abide with God is to become sinless.

"No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him" 1John 3:6

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God." 1John 3:9

When we are baptised and we put to death our old selves and take on the saving name of Jesus, we enter into a covenant with God - a lasting marriage, a committed relationship. He no longer sees our sin because it is covered by the blood of Christ. We are seen as sinless in the eyes of God. Although we may still sin, it is covered by the blood of Jesus, thereby we become perfect, sinless children of God. However if we keep on sinning and do not know God, we show that we have not taken on the saving name of Jesus and accepted Jesus as our Saviour.

Abiding in God extends beyond believing and doing the word of God to a life motivated by the grace of God that leaves behind sin in its pursuit for righteousness.

Abiding - God’s love in me

Lastly, to abide with God is to love one another.

"God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1John 4:16

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." 1John 4:12

Gods greatest commandment to us is to firstly, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind", and secondly to "Love your neighbour as yourself." - Matthew 22:37-39. So Jesus wants us to love one another and serve one another in the same way that he loved us and gave his life for us. But first and foremost, Jesus wants our total devotion and love for Him. He wants to abide in us. It is only from hearts filled with love for Him that all good works and acts of love flow. If we show love to others, we show love and devotion to God and we abide in Him.

So how do we abide in God?

For me, it’s almost as if Jesus has set up camp inside me... and is sitting around toasting marshmallows on my heart that burns only for him. He guides my thoughts and walks where I walk. His mind becomes my mind. His thoughts, my thoughts. Our foot prints become one foot print. My shadow, His shadow. He becomes my conscience, my sweet small voice of reason and my friend. By following his commands and loving those around me, I can reflect Him in my life, my thoughts, the way I deal with others and the way I live my life. It’s allowing Him to be liquid in my life, to seep into my cracks and crevices and fill my empty spaces.

He is my inspiration. He is my link to the Father. He is my home.