Good Morning Friends,
“I write to you, dear children, because your
sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young
men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have
known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are
strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”
(1 John 2:12-14)
John’s letter contains a challenging message
to the Christians he loved and for whom he felt responsible. He was calling
them to some hard things. He was calling them to admit their own sin and not
deny it. He was calling them to leave their sin behind and overcome it. He was calling
them to a new lifestyle, a lifestyle of loving one another. None of those are
easy things. The question is, how could they do them?
There’s only one way anyone can do the things
John calls us to: through the resources God has provided us.
He has provided forgiveness of sins. That
allows us to freely admit that we have sinned and freely admit that we still
struggle with sin. We don’t have to deny our sin or try to cover it up, God has
provided forgiveness.
He has provided an intimate relationship with
Himself: we know Him, we know the Father. We are not powerless, He makes
Himself and His power known to us. We aren’t called to leave sin behind and
love others in our own strength or without help. He’s there with us to provide
what we need to do what He asks.
He has overcome the evil one for us and in
us. Satan’s temptations don’t have the power they used to have in our lives. God
has already dealt Satan a death blow. He is reeling from what happened on the
cross, already defeated. He is weakened in his approach to us. We don’t have to
give in to him anymore.
What God calls us to is a challenge. It’s not
easy. But He has already provided what we need to meet the challenge.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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