What Does It Mean to Abide and Why Is It Important?

There have been times when I felt I was really abiding in Jesus. Then there have been times when I have to admit, not so much!

What does it mean to abide, how can we abide and why should we abide?

First, who needs to abide? The answer: everyone who believes in him. If we believe in Jesus. If we have invited him into our lives, he has a word for us.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31–32 (ESV)

That’s what Jesus said. He said it to the Jews but he also said it to us! And here is what we do about it.

Benefits of abiding

You are marked as a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is a disciplined learner. In fact, it is what we are called to be. The New Testament leaves no room for those who want to be a Christian without being a disciple.

That means that in every way and in every day we are growing up to be like Jesus. We are not striving to be a Christian that is as worldly as possible. We should never be trying to just barely get into heaven!

Instead, we are following the example of Jesus. We want to think like he did. That will lead us to talk and act like he did. That will help us stay out of the places we should not be and instead be in the places he wants us to be.

You know the truth. When we abide we begin to discern the truth about God. We can distinguish the subtleties of the devil. We begin to discern what is real and what is not.

There are many in the church today who are far from the truth. They exchange God’s truth for a culturally acceptable truth. They want a spiritual peace while they conform to the world. Knowing the truth helps you realize that the ways of the world and the ways of God are mutually exclusive.

What does it mean to abide?

Jesus specifically tells us to abide in his word. To abide literally means to live in. I live in a house so I eat and sleep in this house. I spend a great amount of my time in this house. It is where I am most comfortable because it is safe and I can truly be myself here. I nurture all my relationships with the loved ones I share this house with.

When we abide in Jesus’ word, we are experiencing the same sorts of things on a spiritual plane.

How do we abide?

Okay, I know how to abide in a house. How do I abide in the words of Jesus? Here are four essential components of abiding.

Read his word – a lot. Sometimes, I have been guilty of reading just enough to get by. Unfortunately, when I have that attitude, I don’t get by at all! We always make time for what’s important in life. A few years ago, I realized that I spent more time eating and drinking than I did in God’s Word.

I decided that if it was that important to feed my physical body which will eventually give out, how much more important was it to feed my immortal soul? Since that day, I have consistently spent more time reading God’s word than I have eating.

Study his word. Until recently, this has been difficult for me. I would study for his words in preparation for teaching but didn’t do so well studying for myself. But the study of his word is important and so I have begun a deeper daily study into his word. It is part of abiding. Watch for upcoming blog post to help you study the Word.

Pray. Prayer is our conversation with God. We should feel right at home here. We can be ourselves in prayer. There are many dimensions to prayer. I have written a lot about prayer. So check out other posts, like this one.

We must be in prayer constantly. Our conversation with Jesus should be ongoing.

Conform and Transform. To abide also means we conform to the word of God. We allow his truth to transform our lives so we no longer live like the world but live like children of the King, citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Your Turn

This may call for you to make some significant changes in your life. But living in the kingdom is like nothing else! It is truly worth it.

What do you need to do today? Do not delay. Do it now!