Cling to Jesus and His Word

^“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Following Jesus with whole, complete devotion means clinging to Him day by day. We need to hold on Jesus, and the knowledge and wisdom we gain from His Word. In one of his songs, Steven Curtis Chapman sings these words: “I will hold on to the hand of my Savior, and I will hold on with all my might. I will hold loosely to things that are fleeting and hold on to Jesus. I will hold on to Jesus for life.” Jesus is and should be everything to us. As Jesus-followers, we want to cling to Jesus as if everything about us is dependent on Him. Because the truth is – we are completely dependent on Him.

The Greek word meno means to remain, hold on to, or continue. The word is used 118 times in the NT. John uses this word the most in the NT, as the word occurs in his Gospel 40 times. In the gospel of John, the word meno repeatedly shows up in chapter 15. The NIV usually translates this word as “remain.” The King James Version paints a beautiful picture translating meno as “abide.” In The Message, Peterson uses the idea of “joined” in an effort to depict the meaning behind the Greek word meno. In John 15, and in most other contexts, the word “meno” paints a picture of “cleaving to something, or grabbing a hold of something and not letting go” (J.K. Jones). In 2 Timothy 3:14, the word meno is translated as “continue” in the NIV. It paints a picture of Timothy holding on to, remaining in, or grabbing onto the truths of OT Scripture that he had been taught through his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice, and also through Paul. “What we want to do as Jesus-followers is “hang on so intimately to the things of Jesus and Jesus Himself that He becomes our home’” (J.K. Jones). In John 14:23, the noun monhn is translated “home” (J.K. Jones). As servant leaders, we need to cling to Jesus and his Word so that we become so intimate with Jesus that he is our “home” – the place where we abide. As Paul calls Timothy to cling to what he has learned in the Scriptures, we are called to cling to the Word and Jesus himself if we desire this abundant life that Jesus promised those who follow Him. Our call is to cling to Him as if everything about us depended upon Him. Everything about us and our lives really does depend upon Jesus!

A purpose-driven servant leader is one who passionately remains faithful in a lifelong commitment to Scripture (J.K. Jones). Clinging to Jesus is also clinging to His Word. God’s Word is many things to us as Christians. It is ophelimos which is the idea of something being profitable. What it is useful for? It is useful for didaskalian (teaching) - which is a doctrine word. It has to do with the idea that “Good teaching tells the truth” (J.K. Jones). It is useful for elegmon (rebuking) - which is the idea that it is valuable because it exposes lies. It is useful for epanorthosin (correcting) - which is the idea of changing behavior. The Word corrects our faults and straightens out our messes by transforming our behavior. And, lastly it is useful for paideian (training) – which is an athletic word. It is the idea that Scripture coaches godly living. We cling to the teaching from the Word because we are so in love with Jesus and desire to be intimate with Him. We also cling to the Word because we are called to grasp on to the Word and never let it go from our hearts. As we internalize the Word and soak up everything we can from it, we will grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Word – and grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus.

We are called to a life-long commitment to Scripture. If we want to be faithful servants, we need to faithfully stay anchored in the Word. Scripture grows mature people. As servant leaders, what we have to do is get close enough to Jesus that we can hear Him. When we cling to the Word, we grow closer to Him. As we grab on to the Scripture and never let it go, we move forward in our relationship with Him. So soak up the Word, grasp on to Jesus, and listen for His soft whisper speak to your heart today.