Why is it—at least for some of us—that we seem to forget the beginning. The message that we heard and accepted at the point of making Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is the same today as then. Jesus Himself is the same today as then. What changed for me except me?

John specifically uses the verb "abide". This is very telling about what may have changed in the interim. "Abide" means to stay, to reside, to remain—it has the connotation of never leaving a place or positon but remaining steadfast in the exact, same place. If we don't "abide", it means WE have moved to some degree away from the point of origin. In other words, the message hasn't changed its position, the Messenger hasn't moved to another location, so I'm left with having to assess to where I'VE moved and how far away from the beginning.

I suppose this should be painfully obvious to me in John's suggestion that if we maintain our position firmly in Christ that we'll "abide in the Son and in the Father." If my current "abode" is not fully shared by the Son and the Father, I have all the evidence necessary to definitively pinpoint not just that I'VE moved, but how far.

Lord, lead me back to abide in the beginning so that I may always remain in You and in the Father._††_†

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