Jesus Repeated One Word Ten Times

Jesus' words and deeds on the night of the Last Supper were focused on helping the disciples grasp a truth as revolutionary as the first use of an incandescent light. "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you" (John 14:20).

In a sense, we're a lightbulb--an airtight glass housing a tungsten filament. When the bulb is connected to a power supply, the electric current zips through the tungsten, releasing light photons.

A lightbulb can't fulfill its intended purpose without electricity. When the power goes out, the lightbulbs in your fixtures and lamps generate no more light than an empty glass jar. The moment the power returns, the bulb glows.

Similarly, our body is the glass bulb and our spirit the filament. The moment we trust in Jesus, God's Spirit acts like an electric current touching the filament of our spirit, and suddenly we're able to fulfill our God-given purpose.

Unlike the unreliable power source on which a light bulb depends, the Holy Spirit indwells us with an inexhaustible and unbreakable supply of energy-the same resource that Jesus drew upon during his life on earth. The question is, how do we follow his example and draw on such wisdom and strength? Jesus answered that question with one word: abide.

After leaving the upper room, and leading his disciples out of Jerusalem, Jesus paused at a vineyard, took a grapevine in his hand, and said:"If someone doesn’t remain in Me, they’re thrown out as a branch and wither. And they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they’re burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. “My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. Even as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you’ll remain in My love, even as I’ve kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I’ve spoken these things to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full. “This is My commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you." (John 15:1-11, ESV, emphasis added)

Jesus could have told his followers that the key to victorious living involved performing a religious ritual, abstaining from certain foods or drinks, giving money to the poor, or attending church. Instead, he repeated that single word--abide--ten times, so the disciples, and we, wouldn't miss the point.

The essence of abiding is staying connected and allowing the natural life of the vine to produce its natural fruit through us. All our striving and struggling and seeking dissolve in that one quiet verb: abide. That's how we prove to be his disciples. That's how we become more like him.