Monday
1 John 2.1a “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ the Righteous One.”
Like the good pastor he is, John recognises two things. We all sin – and wish we didn’t! We love God, yet still act, speak and think in ways that contradict our best intentions. With that same pastoral realism John warned, “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1.8) So. Sin is real, and deep, and ambushes us when we least expect it. To confess our sins, to own up, is the first sign of true repentance, that honest look at ourselves in the presence of God. Then we find that God is faithful and just and forgiving for the sake of Christ, who died for us, and rose again.
Tuesday
Tuesday 1 John 2.1b “If anyone does sin we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ the Righteous One.”
We have an advocate. One who comes and stands alongside us and speaks for us. Jesus intercedes for us, and places Himself between us and our sin. As one who has been tempted and tested in all the same ways as we have, but without sin, Jesus in his perfect humanity stands before the Father in our place. In Jesus Christ the Righteous One, God’s love and holiness are on full display. Our sin is real, serious, and comes between us and God – but Christ stands with us, speaks for us, and intercedes as Son of God and Son of Man with the God who is faithful and just, who forgives and cleanses the heart and mind, for Jesus sake. Sin is not the last word – Christ is God’s last and final word.
Wednesday
1 John 2.2 “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
The death of Christ is God’s great act of reconciliation. In the sacrifice of Christ the world sees the final demonstration of God’s self-giving love. Through the Cross God’s eternal No to human sin is proclaimed in judgement, and God’s eternal Yes of love, mercy and forgiveness is revealed to the whole world. “What is revealed at the cross is redeeming love, and it is revealed as the last reality of the universe, the eternal truth of what God is. It is before the foundation of the world; nay the very foundations of the world are laid in it. You wish to know the final truth about God? Here it is, eternal love, bearing sin.” (James Denney, The Way Everlasting.)
Thursday
1 John 2.3-4 “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. Anyone who says ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
Yes, I know. A bit harsh. But sometimes a faithful pastor has to be blunt because truth is a way of being. To know Jesus is to obey Jesus’ teaching; to love God is to obey him. You can’t love God while ignoring God’s will and purpose for human life. To claim to love God, while disobeying God’s commands is to live a lie. By contrast, to truly love God, is to gladly live in the obedience of faith, by loving one another, by enacting love for our neighbour, and by following the ways of Jesus so that the truth of Jesus is made visible and audible in our lives.
Friday
1 John 2.5 “If anyone obeys Christ’s word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.”
Christian obedience is not blind obedience. With eyes open to who Jesus is, and to the truth of God revealed in Him, obedience is our glad response of loving gratitude. You can’t fake that. John is describing the work of God’s grace in the obedient heart and mind. Love for God becomes the true motive of our living, and that love comes to completion, actually perfection, as we become light reflecting the light of God, and love reflecting the love of God. God is light, and we reflect that. God is love, and we embody that. Thus by keeping Christ’s word, we have assurance of the love of God, and we live and walk in the light of God.
Saturday
1 John 2.5b-6 “This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus walked.”
How do we know we are a Christian? If we obey his commands. How do we know we are in Christ? If our lives are lived in the strength of Christ, our ways of living are modelled on Christ, our character and lifestyle are unmistakable reminders and pointers to the ways of Jesus. That’s how we know we are the real thing and not just cheap imitations of the genuine article. John will keep coming back to this. How do we know we are God’s children? How do we know we are in Christ? How do we know that we are born of God? To walk as Jesus walked, to obey his commands, to align our ways of being with the life, teaching and example of Jesus. (Smudge on top of a bookcase laden with theology, and nearer heaven!)
Sunday
1 John 2.6 “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus walked.”
“If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John the veteran Apostle heard these words of Jesus when they were first spoken. John knows what he is talking about! To walk as Jesus walked is to choose the way of the cross. To walk as Jesus walked is to take on the yoke of discipleship. To walk as Jesus walked is to learn and re-learn every day the life-discipline of love for God and neighbour that will define who we are.
Leave a Reply