Abiding in Love

"Abide in My love..." This is the word that the Lord is speaking to my heart. To be found in Him, nourishing my heart, being rooted and built up in His love for me. Absolutely nothing on earth can compare to this knowledge of an intimate relationship with the Lover of my soul. Nothing can fill me or bring satisfaction to my soul the way that Jesus can...and I have yet to experience the great depths of all He has for me.

I am learning that the key to going deeper is to forget all that is behind. I cannot live in the past, I cannot hold onto that which has already come and gone - be it good or bad. I must press on towards that which lies ahead, setting my heart to lay hold of the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus. Now I must remember all that God has done for me, and all that He has taught me, for it would be foolishness to bury these nuggets of truth in the sea of forgetfulness. What I am trying to convey is that this forgetting speaks of a necessity to abide or remain in Christ in order to encounter Him in the present, not depending on yesterday's encounter to somehow suffice. This is a difficult lesson to learn! It seems that it is second-nature for me to want yesterday's experience to somehow propel me forward into a deeper experience tomorrow. And yet somehow, I have a feeling that it does not work that way. Yesterday is gone and today I must abide in Him, trusting that He will enlarge my heart to receive more and more of His love for me.

In John 6, Jesus declares that He is the true Manna sent from heaven. He has come to give us abundant life, to nourish and feed our hearts. In Exodus 16, the Israelites were instructed to take only what was needed for each day, and no more. Those who tried to eat yesterday's manna found out how quickly it spoiled. I believe there is a deep spiritual truth here. The true Bread of heaven gives us exactly what we need each day if we will come and learn of Him.

I am also beginning to see that abiding is simply being with Jesus. I cannot measure the growth of my heart by my striving - striving will get me nowhere except amidst the company of shame and condemnation, for I can never earn merit with God by my works. Abiding is an attitude of the heart, an active waiting upon God. It is simply saying "Yes, I will set my heart before you! I will fix my gaze upon You. I will draw near Your heart." And it is in this positioning of myself before the Lord that I am changed. It is here that He strengthens my heart. It is here that He acts on my behalf. It is here that I begin to reflect His glory, for we truly become that which we behold.