In John 15, Jesus tells his friends to abide in his love. Abide is such a wonderful word, with an aura of luxuriating, waiting-without-a-care, guiltlessly delighting in a lazy front porch conversation on a summer evening, a glass of lemonade in your hand. It is, mostly, inert—but it is a beautiful and wonderful inertness that comes from confidence in the relationship and a deepening of attachment to Jesus, who sacrificed everything for us.

What we fear determines what we worship—worship being what we actually do with our thoughts and emotions and body. If I fear being alone, I will do everything in my power to make sure I have companionship. If I fear not having enough money, I will do whatever it takes to make sure I get and keep all that I can. If I fear what people think of me, then I will do whatever it takes to manage my image. We are fearful-beings; we will fear something. The Bible simply tells us to fear God, the only Being worthy of our fear.