Skip to main content

[5] But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. 
This is how we know we are in him: [6] The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
1 John 2:5-6 CSB
Love made complete.
Walk just as he walked.
Do we want love to be made complete?
Yep.
Keep his word.
Walk as Jesus walked.
Maybe this is not so easy - if we read Matthew Ch5-7 for what keeping his word might look like, when we consider Matthew 22:37-40 (love God with all your heart, soul & mind, & love your neighbour as yourself), when we see Jesus homeless, rejected, abandoned, persecuted, abused, and killed, is that what John means we have to be like?
For me the clue is found in Ch2 v1 where John addresses his readers as "my little children". As small children this is about learning, taking small steps, getting it not quite right, getting picked up, dusted off, trying again after a nap, being nurtured and loved as we grow and step towards maturity.
It's about a direction that we are being called in.
Invited in.
Encouraged in.
Keep his word.
Walk as Jesus walked.
Let's see what the next step this invitation is taking us in, keeping the openness to wonder of a small, dearly loved child...
#lettersfromJohn
#invitation 
#weareBeloved 
#keephisword
#walkasJesuswalked

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power. ... Who will bring me into the fortified city?  Who will bring me victory over Edom? Have you rejected us, O God?  Will you no longer march with our armies?Oh, please help us against our enemies,  for all human help is useless. With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes. Psalm 108 6, 10-13 NLT After the most beautiful and uplifting worshipful first half to this song, David takes us somewhere completely different in the second half.  It's all about victory, power, winning, it's all about him. The "mighty things" he wants God to do are all on the outside, all about power, and David's writing sounds like he's a bit lost in his quest to win. And I do the same thing. Praise God and ask him to fix my problems. Fix the classroom/online/workplace bully, fix my finances, fix my relationships, fix my problems. So as I sit with this psalm of 2 halves, its a bit of a mir...
Friday! Proverbs! The Lord hates six things;  in fact, seven are detestable to him:  (1) arrogant eyes,  (2) a lying tongue,  (3) hands that shed innocent blood, ... Proverbs 6:16-17 CSB This list of things that Proverbs describes that our God stands against, are anti-God, must be things that God isn't.  It's easy to use Proverbs as a weapon, to accuse or label others, but Proverbs is about finding the way of wisdom, of life, it's about the heart, mine, yours, ours.  And it's full of metaphor. Arrogant eyes. Eyes aren't arrogant, they're just that part of my body that receives visual information aren't they? Arrogant eyes. My tongue doesn't tell lies by itself, I do that. Hands that shed innocent blood - I haven't taken anyone's life... The word here for "hands" is "yad" and it is used literally and figuratively- it means an open hand (not closed) and is about direction and use of power. Proverbs invites us to sit with these p...