Section 16
keep His commandments. When we abide in the Lord, He will speak His instant words within us. These words are His commandments to us. If we keep them, it means that we love Him. Thus we shall abide in His love. Firstly, the Lord abides in us. Then His word abides in us. Firstly, He deals with us by Himself. Then, He deals with us by His word and by His love. This is very meaning ful. Firstly, He abides in us and then His word abides in us. Firstly, we abide in Him and then we abide in His love. Take the example of two friends. In such a friendship, the one friend must care for the word of the other. It is no longer only a matter of the friend himself but also of his word. If the one friend does not care for the other's word, he will lose his friendship. But, if he cares for his friend's word, he will gradually find him self in his friend's love. This will deepen the friendship, making it more intimate and intensi fied. But if the one does not care for the other's word, he will not be in the other's love in such an intimate way, and eventually the friendship will be damaged.
At the beginning, we abide in the Lord and He abides in us. In His abiding, He speaks His instant word to us. We need to keep this word. When we keep His word, it means that we allow