1 John 1
The short of it. God is REAL!
The disciple John wrote this as an older man, likely in the first century, to the churches he cared about. His writing here can be perceived as push back to the teachings in other churches at the time who were spreading a couple different ideas.
- Jesus wasn’t really a flesh and blood human
- What you do with your body doesn’t matter if you have the right “spiritual knowledge”
Three takeaways from the reading –
- Christianity isn’t built on good philosophy. It lays on eyewitness testimony about a real person. John’s writing is essentially him saying, ‘here’s my receipts’.
- Faith and lifestyle aren’t separate boxes. Walking ‘in the light’ means no secrets. Instead, it means to live transparently with nothing your trying to hide.
- The goal isn’t to pretend to be perfect. It’s to be honest. Confession isn’t begging. It’s agreeing with God about what’s true, and then receiving the forgiveness he’s already promised.
John isn’t passing along rumors about Jesus he heard online. He heard Jesus talk. He saw Him with his own eyes. He touched Him. Just being able to share that with people gave John the truest sense of joy.
God is COMPLETELY good. There is no shady side to Him, no agenda, no darkness. So, if you know someone who says that they are ‘close with God’ but are living 2 separate lives, they are simply not being honest. But if we live openly and honestly, the way God is, then we can have real fellowship with each other, and Jesus’ sacrifice keeps us clean.
If we say and believe we don’t live in sin, we are absolutely kidding ourselves, and everyone else can see it. But if we are upfront and admit it, God is faithful and fair. He forgives us and makes up entirely clean. If anyone insists they have never done anything wrong, they are basically calling God a liar and showing his message hasn’t really sunk into them.
Here comes a shocker to all….sometimes I act one way at home and turn around and act a little bit different out in the world. Guilty. And the crazy thing, I know I am doing it when I am doing it. AND, it is always one of the first things I ask God to forgive me for every night.
To be thankful to Him is an understatement when we acknowledge that we simply aren’t a perfect person and in no way are we ever going to be. Obviously, this doesn’t give any of us free reign to do as we please and ask for forgiveness later, but it certainly feels amazing to have a relationship with someone who loves and forgives us no matter what mistakes we can make on this earth.
God, You are light, You are faithful. Help me walk honestly with You and thank You for the forgiveness I don’t have to earn.