Jesus invites us into a relationship where we are called to trust in Him for both eternal and abundant life. In John 15:1-15, He uses the metaphor of the vine and branches: He is the vine, and we are the branches.

The key to a life that is clean, fruitful, dependent, and obedient—a truly abundant life—is to remain in Him. The Greek word translated as ‘remain,’ meno, means to stay, endure, and remain steadfast. It suggests a commitment to stay rooted in purpose, to be unwavering mentally, spiritually, and physically. Through life’s trials, highs, and challenges, Jesus invites us to keep on abiding in Him.

This word also appears in Jesus’s words in John 14, “My Father’s house has many rooms...We will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:2, 23), where meno is reflected in the notion of dwelling together.

As Eugene Peterson puts it, “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you.” This powerful image of shared life points to the abundance that flows when we remain rooted in Jesus. In a world marked by tension and anxiety, what it needs most is the embodied presence of Jesus.

As the vine, He continues to grow, and we, His branches, are called to remain in Him—clean, fruitful, dependent, and obedient.

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