I’ve been working my way through the book of John lately, and I keep coming across the word “abide”. In John alone, it’s used 9 times (6:56; 8:31; 15:4,5,6,7,9,10,16).
I’ve always thought of abiding as just loving Jesus by obeying Him, and while that’s true, it’s so much deeper than that.
The word abide means “to be held, kept” or “in reference to state or condition: to remain as one, not to become another or different”. Interestingly, it also means “to wait for, await one”. Using that definition, it’s clear that what Jesus means here is that we are called to stay within the bounds of how He tells us to do life, within the bounds of holiness and blamelessness (Colossians 3:12) that we receive when we enter into a relationship with Christ, to live in reference to Him, not ourselves anymore.
If I’m to abide, remain, stay with Jesus, it means that I can’t and shouldn’t try to step outside His rule. If Jesus is the Sovereign King in all the areas of my life, it’s a lie to believe that I can actually reign in any of them. And abiding in Jesus means not only staying under His protection, love, and mercy, but also under His power and authority. To remain under His power and authority requires, at the very centre, the ultimate breaking of my pride.
Obedience then, is the total submission of our pride. Obedience says that His way really is best, that His way really is the freest way. It shouts total trust that God’s way, while it may look like the foolish choice, will turn out to be the straightest way to the oasis.
The breaking of our pride is hard. Like, hard hard. It sometimes feel like it’s not your pride breaking but you yourself. This is the kind of breaking that requires outside help. …We need Jesus to use His power and authority to break our hearts so they can come under the submission of His rule. And like a horse properly broken and cared for by a kind master, we too are cared for and provided for and protected by the Most Kind Master, who loves us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).
Oh Lord! May I remain in you always. May You remind me to trust you, to allow you to break my pride. Help me to love you by abiding in you!
What you’ll find here is a collection of musings, thoughts, writings, and ramblings about things I’m reading, watching, and thinking about. It’s my goal to inspire, encourage, and instruct my fellow sisters in their walk with Jesus and their understanding of the Word.
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