Settle Here...

My great-grandfather, William Smith, was twenty years old when he struck a deal with a man named William Hair.  Mr. Hair had bought some property deep in former Seminole territory and was moving there.  He had a herd of cattle he wanted to move from North Florida (almost South Georgia) to his new place, between the Peace River and the Kissimmee River, near a trail from Ft. Meade to Ft. Kissimmee.  If Great-grandpa went with him, he would give him part of the cattle, and Great-grandpa could find his own place to settle.

I can’t imagine what that must have been like: my great-grandfather, great-grandmother, her mother, and two enslaved people, probably with a wagon, horses, maybe a few chickens, setting out south into the wilderness of Florida.  There would have been many rivers to cross, swamps to navigate, piney flatwoods to traverse.  There may have been a few primitive trails, but many times they literally were off the beaten path.

They had to keep the cattle together.  I don’t know how many cows there were, but driving cattle across that terrain had to be tough.  I’m sure they had dogs to help.  There was a good chance they would run into a Seminole or two who had escaped deportation to Oklahoma.  They might steal a few cows or kill some of the little traveling band.

I don’t know how long it took for them to make the two-hundred-and-fifty-mile trip. Considering the wagons, it might have taken them a month.  Camping out is fun for the first two days; imagine it for a month.  Historians talk about the conditions on the Oregon Trail; imagine it with Florida-sized mosquitoes, alligators, rattlesnakes, and panthers.

When they arrived at Mr. Hair’s new place, a whole ridge of land opened up.  Great-grandpa would have looked for a place with good water, good soil, timber to build a log cabin, and some open prairie to run his cows.  About three miles away from Mr. Hair, right as the ridge fell off to flat creek bottom, Great-grandpa found his place.  I’m not sure why he chose that exact spot, but something told him, “This is a good place to settle.”  He staked out his claim, built his log cabin, and made his home.

Some time after that, he rode over to the village of Manatee, sixty miles away, and paid ninety cents an acre for his eighty acres.  The total price came to a whopping $72.  In today’s dollars, that would be about $2,700 total.

I’ll bet Great-grandpa had no idea that his family would still own that original eighty acres 170 years later (plus a lot more).  It turned out to be a good place to settle.

Jesus told his disciples to “Abide in my love.”  The word abide means to settle down, to make a home.  What does it mean to settle in Jesus’ love?

I think it means I am not looking for another home.  I have made my decision: I will live with Jesus.  People may tell me about a better place to live, but I will not trust their words.  I will trust the love I experience doing daily life with Jesus.

It means I will enjoy living in abundance.  Because Jesus draws his love from our Heavenly Father, I know the supply of love available to me is unlimited.  Whatever my struggles, whatever my fears, whatever my anxieties, I know I am deeply loved.  As Paul wrote, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I did not have to pay to live in this land of love; Jesus paid the price for me to dwell here. When Jesus died on the cross, my sins were forgiven, and I was enabled to move into the land of his love, to settle down, and to live a life of grace and peace.

Settling into Jesus’ love means I have security.  I will surely still face “many dangers, toils, and snares.”  Living in his love does not mean a non-stressed life.  It means even though the storm rages, the winds howl, and the waves beat against my home, my foundation is Jesus and his love.

Many people come to the edge of the land of love.  Jesus invites them to settle there.  They refuse.  Some start to tell you about their troubles in the last place they lived and never enter.  Some think his offer is too good to be true.   Some believe the lie that there is a better place a little further on.  And tragically, some people believe they are not worthy of living in the land of love; they never pause on their restless journey.

Jesus’ invitation is for everyone: come, settle down in my love.  Living here will fill you up with joy.  You will have a deep, settled feeling that your Heavenly Father is for you, not against you.  And one day, you will wake up, not in this world, but in the ultimate land of love: Heaven.

-August 17, 2025