Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Live deeply in Christ

Friday, January 3, 2014

1 John 3:1, 4-6
What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! ... All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backward. (The Message)

We are approaching Epiphany Sunday, the twelfth day of Christmas, which celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ.

Today John tells us that when we look at Christ and "live deeply" in him, we will not make a practice of sin. But what is sin? It's not a word we use lightly, but it's often not a word we use at all.

The Greek word amarthanw, translated into English as "sin," means "to miss the mark." Augustine eventually defined sin as a hardened heart, which leaves us with a disposition to turn away from God because of inordinate self-love.

So we move the mark and we change the rules. But God's laws are not arbitrary dos and don'ts. They show us the way God lives and reveal the spiritual principles by which He lives. God gives us his laws to show us his way of love.

God's laws define how to demonstrate love toward God and each other. So sin is the violation of God's law of love. (Love = agape, which means affection/good will/benevolence without condition)

Jesus couldn't have been clearer. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." And then he joined the two together as he said without blinking, "Whatever you do for the least in life, you are doing for me."

What we DO when we live deeply in Jesus ... is LOVE. This is the point of John's letter and of the whole Bible. This is the Word of God. Love trumps everything else.

"Love never fails. Where there are prophecies they will cease. Where there are tongues they will be stilled. Where there is knowledge it will pass away. These three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13).

John the Baptist called you the Lamb of God, "who takes away the sin of the world." So you show God's love, and bring God's love to us, and call God's love out of us for us to give each other. With your open heart you insist that we live deeply in you. What a wondrous invitation. Thank. You. Jesus. Yes.

Devotions Archive

Live deeply in Christ

Friday, January 3, 2014