by: Cris Corzine-McCloskey
Over the past couple of weeks, I laid a foundation showing that abiding in the love of Jesus gives us stability and peace. It also makes us much more pleasant to be around. Now I want to show you the practice of abiding. My favorite example is found in the life of David.
There are notations above many of the Psalms telling what inspired each song. Psalm 59 has one that reads, “A Psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David’s house to kill him.” My response would have been a high-speed come-apart! David wrote a song of praise.
He starts out acknowledging the problem, “Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me” (v. 1). And he spends a few verses discussing the threat. But by verse 8, David switches gears. “But Lord, you laugh at them. You scoff…You are my strength, I wait for you to rescue me, for you, O God, you are my fortress. In His unfailing love, my God will stand with me…I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.”
Oh, the beauty of a human heart abiding in the love of God. David acknowledged his problem, but his heart was so set on the “unfailing love” of God as his safety that the love became a superior reality. Our normal default is to look at a situation and think “how can God love me and let this happen?” By abiding in God’s love David was able to look at his problem and think because God loves me, I will come through. That’s the difference between abiding in self and abiding in His love.
In the Book of John, John called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”. That was John’s way of abiding in the love of God in Christ Jesus. In Galatians Paul does something similar when he called Jesus, “the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Paul, more than anyone, knew that Christ died for all. But Paul was determined, like John, to take that love personally. That was also David’s secret, he took God’s love personally.
The best way to abide in His love is to take it personally and make that revelation the cornerstone of your life. That’s what caused John to give himself the nickname “the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved.” I think that’s awesome, and I don’t think John would be the least bit offended if you borrowed his nickname. Go ahead, try it. Start saying to yourself, “I am the believer that Jesus loves and died for.” Now look at that, your roots are growing! Fruit is on its way.
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