^“Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”

John 15:4, NIV

If you don’t mind, I’d like to delve a little deeper into this part. Bear with me, because I think there’s something else here worth noting.

The original Greek word for remain is meno.  It’s interesting that it translates both to stay and to wait.  Staying is difficult enough for most of us. We get bored. We get frustrated. We want something new, something different. We’re ready to “move on.”

But waiting? That’s next to impossible. Our culture today emphasizes nothing if not immediate gratification. Technology can be amazing—you can send mail, pay bills, read your Bible, and even order pizza all on the same device with which you make phone calls! With the Internet on your smart phone, all the information in the world is at your fingertips. Remember the days of taking pictures, sending your film off to be developed, and waiting for the envelope of snapshots to come in? What about calling someone, and they weren’t home and didn’t have an answering machine, so you just had to call back? Anyone remember having to reheat leftovers in the oven or on the stovetop? Some of you probably do. A lot of you probably don’t.

The one downside to all this instant gratification is that our lives are so busy, so rushed, that we can’t recall (or have never known) how to sit back and chill.  We’ve lost the patience to simply wait. If Jesus doesn’t answer our prayers immediately, we feel rejected. But He reminds us that not only are we to remain in Him – to stay with Him – but we are to wait for Him. One of the fruits of the Spirit is forebearance. Some translations use patience instead. In other words, the ability to wait.

Jesus isn’t a smart phone app that’s going to respond the moment you tap it with your fingertip. Also, he’s not dependent on a good Internet connection or charged battery. If you remain in Him, trust Him, stay with Him and wait for Him, He will be the source you need. Guaranteed.

Remaining in Him,

Amy