Remain In My Love

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." (John 15:9 NASB)

In John 15, Jesus likens us to a branch that is attached to a vine in a vineyard. It would have been a very familiar picture for his listeners as they were used to seeing vineyards on the hillsides around their towns. They would have understood what Jesus meant when he said that each branch needed to produce fruit. They would have known all about pruning. 

The point Jesus is making is that our life comes to us through him. He came that we would have life and have it in abundance. He came to set us free. He encourages us to abide, or remain, in him and as we read on, we see that this means to remain in love, in his love. 

It is easy to think that this primarily relates to our love for him but that is not the case. It is actually the other way round. Abiding in his love is us being the recipients of the love he has for us. We stand under the downward flow of his love into our heart. Life flows into the branch through the vine, not the other way round. 

At the start of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul encourages us to pursue love or, as the Passion Translation puts it, "so above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run". Again, this is not so much our love for others or for him, but his love for us. 

​The Message encourages us to make ourselves at home in his love. Let it become our greatest desire to remain in his love for us.