Remain
Remain - stay in the place that one has been occupying.
The question is, what space have you been occupying?
In this case, I want to go to the words where Jesus spoke this very thing concerning remaining. The word abide is used, but they both imply the same thing and come from the same Greek word.
John 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
Jesus invited His disciples to occupy the space of His love. His love for them was just like the love the Father had for Him.
Here, we consider the kind of love the Father had for Jesus because that is the kind of love Jesus has for us.
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
The Father’s love for Jesus was long-standing and unrelenting. It was and is eternal love. The Father also loves us according to Jesus’ prayer.
John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
God the Father loves us with the exact same kind and level of love He has for Jesus!
How is this made possible?
John 16:27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
In this life, there will be many things that come along to challenge our confidence in His love. But His love will never fail, diminish, or turn to hate towards us. He has fixed His love upon us.
The challenge for us is to abide, remain, and stand steadfast in our revelation and acceptance of His love.
Jesus wants us to remain in His love! Remaining in His love gives us the power to recover, overcome, and not fall away. His love has an unexplainable keeping quality, which is why He encouraged us to remain in His love.
If we keep what He commanded us, we will abide in His love, but when we get out of step with Him, we fight a war in our souls that challenges our understanding, perception, and sense of having His love. Remaining in His love is one of those commandments. Are you convinced of His love for you?
