Remain In My Love
“‘I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.’” (John 15:9-10)
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38)
If Paul was convinced that nothing could separate us from the love of God, why did Jesus tell His followers to remain in His love and then explain how to do so? The word used here for remain is “meinate” which means remain or abide, but the word is used in the active, middle, aorist tense, which is a Greek past tense that had no reference to duration or completion of the action. When we look at the word abide, we find that it can be both a transitive and intransitive verb, which gives it several different meanings and uses, such as: to accept without objection, to remain stable or in a fixed state, to continue in a place. So when Jesus tells us to remain or abide in His love it is an ongoing thing that has no ending, His love can be accepted without objection, and we can remain and continue in it. “Meinate” covers it all.
“One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:35-40)
“‘Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.’” (Matthew 3:8)
“‘Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’” (John 13:35)
“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.” (2 Peter 1:10)
So are you doing your best to remain in Christ’ love? Are you doing your best to obey His commands? We have a responsibility when we accept Jesus’ payment for our sins to prove by the way we live that we have truly repented and turned to God, to love the way Jesus taught us to love, and to live in the new life Christ has given us, because the old is gone. Work hard to prove that you are among those God has chosen, obey Jesus’ commands, and remain in His love.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
