Abide with Me

“Remain in my love.” John 15:9

In my other Bible, this verse reads, “Abide in my love.” The Greek word “meno” which translates to abide means to stay or continue on. In John 1:38-39, two disciples who were curious about Jesus asked Him where He was staying. Jesus’ answer was that they should “meno” with Him. 

I can imagine Jesus saying the same to us. Stay with Me, learn from Me, walk with Me, remain in My light, don’t stray away. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you, and your joy might be complete.” (John 15:11) When someone we love passes away, we want to be by his side to listen to his words. For months, I had been recording my father’s stories. Almost anything he said was important to me, because I knew he could leave us at any time. A few days before he died, I even transcribed what he said, even when it did not make sense. 

How much more important, life-changing, crucial it is, for us to take Jesus’ words seriously! I believe it is a matter of life and death for us to understand and obey what Jesus said. It is not reasonable to say, “I will take my faith more seriously when I am old. I still want to enjoy my life, have fun, do things my way.” It is like we are frittering the best years of our life away if we do not start making Jesus our best friend now. He has so much to offer us! There is so much more of the “best” life we can experience if we connect, depend, and continue on in His love!