Abide

I write this on my wrist from time to time. It's there now. The word abide is a reminder of God's encouraging us to stay, remain, dwell in him. 1 John 4:16 says, "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." Jesus himself encourages us to "abide in his love" in John 15. The opposite of abiding is refuse, leave, and even to reject something. When we don't believe that we accept and soak in God's love for us, we are rejecting it. Jesus invites us to rest in his love. He wants us to bask and know how dearly we are loved. I have a hard time believing that God does love us. When Jesus is baptized by John in Matthew 3, God's voice from Heaven tells the world that Jesus is "[his] beloved Son, in whom [he] is well pleased." That is God's disposition towards me! I am beloved by him and he is pleased with me! Abide in that today.