Week 52 1 John
People self-evaluate differently so I can’t speak for them. But I do know that I have doubts & uncertainties about the quality of my faith.
I wonder if John senses that second-guessing element of faith. He says:
• This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands…
• Whoever keeps his word…in him the love of God is made complete
• The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
John is talking about three questions / concerns:
• How can I be sure that I know the Lord?
• How will the love of God be polished-up in me to first-class status?
• How can I remain loyal to the Lord?
And his answers are pretty solid & practical:
• Keep the Lord’s commands
• Keep the Lord’s word
• Walk the way Jesus walked.
I think John’s answers are three different ways of saying more-or-less the same thing. But for me the third one – walking-like-Jesus-walked – is the most understandable & the least abstract idea (not of course saying that walking-like-Jesus-walked is easy).
Last year I taped a verse onto my desk calendar as a reminder: let’s not get tired of doing what is good…We will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Which sounds like Paul’s way of saying what John was driving at: you saw how Jesus lived his life. That’s how you should live.
Note: quotes from 1 John 2:3 5-6 (CSB) & Galatians 6:9 (NLT)