DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: 1 John 2:24-25 – As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
I am grateful to say today that we are alive yet again today. That doesn’t sound all too exciting but more cliché. Everyone says that, what’s the significance? Well it all depends on what you know. For some of us today, we know that because of our schooling we still have our job. For others, we know that since we put gas in the car yesterday it most likely will start up today (hopefully). There are still others that know when the weatherman predicted rain for the following day you were going to have an umbrella on standby…just in case. Ok, that all makes sense but what does that have to do with our passage from today?
What we know in this life, whether it is knowledge from books, firsthand experiences, or stories passed down to us by elderly, um hmm, I mean more mature folks, is the stuff that we hold onto which shapes our lives, thoughts, and outlook on life. It gives us tools to use and confidence to move forward in because we’re officially informed and able to make better choices based on what we now know.
Well our scripture today takes this very notion and supersedes it reality and relevance in our lives. Many of us have been church members, church attenders, and church criticizers for many years. We’ve grown up or have been introduced to Jesus but life gets us all, right? We fall out of love with Christ, doing what’s right, or even wanting to be in His place of worship. We don’t do the “church thing” much anymore. Well this is a troubling scenario – especially for the professing Christian. Just as in our example earlier, we are prone to hold onto that which we actually know about. It stays with us, matures us, and should assist us in being or having a better life. Well if that’s the case for earthly things which have no real or definitive results that we can model for our lives (because no matter how much we try some things just aren’t in the plan for us. No matter how bad you want to do them or become like someone else who does a particular thing), why wouldn’t we hold onto that which God has for us (told us in His word), which will not only make our lives better, but it comes with a promise to have eternal life? This is troubling because it suggests a few very scary truths: 1) we haven’t held on to what we’ve learned about Christ and it hasn’t grown us. 2) we might not be abiding in Jesus, which would make it pretty hard to abide in God and 3) we might not have even known anything about Christ.
I read a statement the morning and it went: “Nobody who has ever genuinely and selflessly opened their heart and lives to Christ has ever regretted the decision. You will never hear that person or anyone for that matter say, “I was better off before.” It has never happen and it never will.” I thought this was so interesting and it came back to memory as I meditated on this scripture today. No one takes what they know to be truth or good for their lives and throws it away or says that it is useless to them. Essentially we only get rid of the junk and trouble in our lives – or is that just me? Have we grouped God in with the mess of this life that we don’t want?
Today we pray that as you meditate on this scripture and devotional that it spurs you on to get rooted back (if you’re not already there) or stay root in true biblical knowledge and teaching of Jesus Christ. That His very words are what you abide in, leaving you moving forward, directly and purposefully in knowing God’s own will for your life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!