Because relationships matter most of all #8: do the right thing and love, love, love
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 1 John 2:28-3:10
I love the way John writes. He spells out his message so clearly and if you didn’t get it the first time, he repeats it in a slightly different way a few more times! His words are not open to interpretation. For John, it’s all black and white with no grey areas. As I’ve said before, I think we like to create grey areas to confuse the issue so that we can excuse ourselves for getting away with stuff! Although I don’t really understand why we do that. We are invited into relationship with the one true God, who has lavished his love upon us and considers us his children: how could any other way compare to his?
Don’t let anyone ever try to convince you that it is not what we do that matters but what we believe. It’s simply not true. We are not saved by what we do, but what we do reflects who we are and the attitude of our heart. Our actions reflect our faith and our desire to walk with God. What we do matters. Every choice we make matters. How we treat other people matters.
If we stick to the right path and ‘continue in Him’, then we have nothing to fear or be ashamed of. We can be confident in Him who calls us and guides us.
People around us are not going to get it. They’re not going to understand why we live as we do. We’ll be swimming against the tide at times, going against the flow, ‘braving the wilderness’ as Brene Brown puts it. We each take our place as a member of the greatest counter culture in human history. We’re not waiting for the life to come: we’re doing all that we can to bring that life into the here and now by being the best we can be for God and with God and in God (within the limitations that we face – don’t beat yourself up about this…it is not the some ideal perfection created by the world, but God’s strength made perfect in weakness).
We cannot get away with getting the same thing wrong over and over and over again. There is no excuse. There is no reason to. We have to believe in better and trust in the transformative resurrection power of Jesus in every corner of our lives.
When you’re attracted by a new way or charismatic teacher or inspiring teaching, then make this your test: does this person show their love of God in all that they do and the way they treat other people? Do not be led astray by someone with all the right words but no love in their heart.
And how about you? Do you show your love of God in all that you do and the way you treat other people?
