Today’s Reading: 1 John 2:29 – 3:24

Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. – 1 John 2:29

FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST LOOKS A LOT LIKE FAMILY.

See how much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. – 1 John 3:1

When we do what is right, we are a child of God. The righteousness of God works within us so that we begin to resemble our Father. The words we say and the way we live show evidence of the presence of His Spirit living and moving within us. We no longer embrace the sins of our past or the culture of our time, for we have been adopted into the family of God.

And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. – 1 John 3:5

If we listen to the Holy Spirit living within us and if we remain in fellowship with Christ (as we talked about yesterday), it will be no problem for us to live the holy life John, Paul and Peter taught about. If we try to do it on our own, we will most definitely fail. Our humanity will be stronger than our will. But God has given us the Holy Spirit to prompt us when we should hold our words back, or when we need to apologize for what we have said or done. It becomes sin when we choose to ignore what the Spirit is saying to us, or when we ignore what we have learned while studying God’s word and enjoying fellowship with Him.

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. – James 4:17

FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST LOOKS A LOT LIKE HOLINESS.

Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. – 1 John 3:6-10

These are powerful words. God’s plan is to make us into who He created us to be. His grace gives us the strength to overcome sin, not just unmerited favor that looks the other way while we continue to submit to our sinful nature (James 4:6). When we respond in obedience to Christ as we live in relationship with Him, it looks like LOVE — to demonstrate our love for Him in our actions towards others.

FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST LOOKS A LOT LIKE LOVE.

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. – 1 John 3:11

When we live in fellowship with Jesus and His Spirit is dwelling within us, love goes from becoming what seems like an impossible demand to an authentic response. Our love for others is no longer a performance but a natural lifestyle, and the recipients of that love begin to sense that what they are receiving from us is real. Listen to these powerful words found in scripture:

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. – 1 John 3:16-24

And so we end right where we began — Our life is different when the Spirit lives in us and when we remain in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Our life produces this kind of love naturally as we live in obedience and relationship with our Savior. And when the love we show towards one another comes out of our growing relationship with Christ, it has a beautiful authenticity to it that we cannot create on our own. May authenticity be a word that describes our generous compassion towards others and may mercy flow from a place of genuine love.