The Greek word ‘meno’ is used eleven times in John 15. It means ‘abide.’ Ten of those times, Jesus was telling His disciples to abide in Him. Abide means to remain at home, stay where you are, don’t wander off! Hmm... I wonder if He wants us to stick with Him? I have a three year old grandson, and he is quite a handful! You cannot take your eyes off of him for a second, because he will wander off. At that point, he is no longer under our protective cover. What happens to a mom when she can’t see her little one? She panics and starts screaming for them. We are adults, we can understand what it means to ‘abide,’ and you can bet we understand that command! If you move out from under His protective cover, your consequences will be yours to deal with. He will call to you to try and bring you back to Him, but you have to be listening. When He tells us to abide in Him, that’s exactly what we need to do!
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4