Before the Savior invites us to abide in His love, He first tells us what that love is. And His explanation adds force to His invitation, so that it would be senseless to refuse: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you” (John 15:9).

God is love. Love is God’s very being— not an attribute but the essence of His nature, the center around which all His glorious attributes gather.

As one who is redeemed by Jesus, you are His delight, and He directs all His desire to you with the longing of a love that is stronger than death and which many waters cannot quench. The heart of Jesus yearns for you, desires your fellowship and your love in response to His love. Were it needed, He would willingly die again for you. As the Father loves the Son totally and utterly, so Jesus loves you. He has bound up His life in yours; you are more indispensable to Him, more precious to Him, than you know. You are one with Him. As the Father loves Him, so He loves you. What a love!

That love is not only the motive, but also the measure of our surrender. Christ’s love gives all and asks all— not because it wants to take from us but because it seeks to fill us to overflowing. Such is the love relationship of the Father to the Son. So it is with the Son’s love of us. To abide in Christ fully is to meet the fullness of His love with the fullness of our surrender. His love has infinite riches beyond our understanding; anything we perceive to be lost as we surrender ourselves to Him will be surpassed a hundredfold in the life He is leading us to. This love is of a height and a depth and a length and a breadth that we cannot comprehend. If we could comprehend it, we would count everything it keeps us from to be worthless and the love alone our highest privilege. God’s love itself supplies the only means for abiding in Him. We believe that this divine love burns away all that would keep us from it. Christ holds me firm and fast in His love; my unworthiness and weakness is no match for His strength. He will compel me to stay in Him by the power of His love.