we know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. he is the true God and eternal life. little children, keep yourselves from idols. [1 john 5:19-21]
this is the sobering reality–there is no such thing as a ‘gray area’:
there is only darkness and light.
as marc always says: satan wants us dead, and when we flirt with darkness, when we choose friendship with the world, we are succumbing to the power of the evil one.
you adulterous people! do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [james 4:4]
when we seek Jesus, we flee from the darkness and into the arms of a welcoming Savior–he knows what it means to live in this world and yet always, always choosing to abide with the Father:
this is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. [1 john 5:5-7]
will we flirt with the world, forming a friendship that will only end in our eternal torment? will we embrace a friendship that only invites the wrath of our Holy God, or will we walk in the light with a God who calls us and pursues us, who purchases us and redeems us with the blood of his son?
greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. you are my friends if you do what i command you. [john 15:13-14]
Jesus laid down his life–in life and death, he proved through obedience to the Father that he was our friend. because of his sacrifice, if we are in Christ, we are righteous, and we can walk in the light, keeping ourselves from the idols of the world. this is what it means, ‘we know we are from God’. let us know him who is true.
~ce