Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31-36, NRSVue)
Then Jesus said, “μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μού ἐστε.” Meno is the base word for the first word in that sentence. It is the word translated as continue. I always thought, well, Jesus is claiming these people were believing in Jesus and doing what he said, and now he is telling them to prove that by continuing to do that. And yes, that is one translation of the text. However, the word meno means to abide. And that is not the same as remain or continue. Abide is deeper than that.
Abide is making it a part of who you are. If you are enveloped in my word, you will be a part of the truth, and in that you will be free. Not free to do whatever you want, but free from concern about your life. You are freed, as the great theologian Brad Dokken said, “We are freed from the impossible task of earning God’s love, which allows us to take on the more interesting task of sharing it.”
You are freed to share love when you abide in Christ. And that is what will not only reform the church, but also the world.
Love.
