Today’s reading is 1 John 3.
In John 15, Jesus told a fantastic parable about a vinedresser, a vine, and a bunch of branches. The entire point of the story was to know our place. We’re just branches. We have only one job: abide in the vine. I encourage you to go back and read John 15, a lot of this week’s chapter hearkens back to that one.
One of the big takeaways is that abiding in God is not some mysterious, mystical, ethereal, butterflies in the stomach feeling. It’s actually quite practical and quite simple. We abide in God if we keep His commandments. We abide in God if we do what He says. If we ignore His commandments, it doesn’t matter how swoony we get at the mention of His name, we don’t abide in Him. And His commandments in this context are pretty simple. Believe in Jesus. Love the brethren. Of course, believing in Jesus means believing Him enough to do what He says. Further, this belief is a trust and giving of allegiance, not simply a mental assent to some facts about Jesus. And loving the brethren, well…we talked about that yesterday. We are to love in deed and truth, not merely word and talk.
The part we may struggle with is John’s declaration that we know God abides in us by the Spirit he has given us. Because of modern debates, we immediately think this means John’s audience knew they were in God and God was in them because they spoke in tongues and worked miracles. Perhaps some did. No doubt, in that time, such manifestations of the Spirit occurred. However, in just the next chapter, John is going to give a test of the Spirit’s presence: confessing Jesus has come in the flesh. We’ll likely mention that more next week. But the point is not about whether folks can say the words, “Jesus has come in the flesh.” It’s about the actual faith. It’s about the actual life change that comes from the faith. In Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit in every Christian’s life is not speaking in tongues, healing the sick, or prophesying. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You know, the kind of fruit that brings glory to God, the vinedresser, not to us. If those things are growing in us, we can have confidence in the Spirit’s presence. If they’re not, we shouldn’t discount it. Rather, we should take a long hard look at whether or not we are really in God.
Abide in God. Do what He says. Then watch the Spirit work growth within you by your faith.
Praise the Lord!
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
What do you want to share with others from 1 John 3?
Read the Bible 