Hmm . . . I guess John was listening.

Ask me about “abiding” and John 15 comes to mind first as the go to passage. There, Jesus talks of a vine (aka Him) and branches (aka His followers) and the importance of the branch abiding in the vine if the branch is gonna be what the branch was made to be and bear fruit.

But this morning, as I read in 1 John, there’s more about abiding. I guess John was listening.

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. . . But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie —  just as it has taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming.

(1John 2:24, 27-28 ESV)

Whole lot of abiding going on. The word heard from the beginning abiding in us — the written word and, I’m thinking, the living Word. The anointing of the Spirit received from Jesus abiding in us. And it’s through what we’ve been taught, through what we know to be true, that we abide in Him. We abide in the Son AND in the Father. We abide so that when He appears at His coming again, we’ll be “ready to receive Him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses” (MSG).

Abide. Remain. Lean in. Don’t depart. Hang on for dear life. Don’t let go.

Jesus in us. Us in Jesus.

Until He comes again.

Abide in Him.

Jesus said it, John heard it. Jesus said it, John believed it. Jesus said it, John made every effort to do it.

Me too? Yeah.

By His grace. For His glory.