Weekly Reflection – Are you walking like Jesus walked?
I encourage you to listen to or watch Sunday’s message from conference pastor Darren Peachy. To listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-hope-ministries/id1717677370?i=1000662957647 Or to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie2JGNZlsh4
I am not going to try and summarize Darren’s message, I will let you do that, but rather give you a couple thoughts I had from the message and this passage.
1 John 2:3-6
- The commands of the Word of God are meant to help us know God. If we love God, we will want to know God and be with God. God, in His love for us, has instructed and given commands to us, so that we can know Him and be with Him. Therefore, if we truly love God and know God, we will be obeying His commands because they are the help and the evidence of knowing and loving Him. We are saved by grace through faith, and faith is trusting and obeying. We receive grace through our trusting and obeying.
- Obedience to the Word of God is evidence that we do love God and want to know Him.
- Verse 6 says, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” This verse is implying that we can walk in the same way as Jesus walked. Will we do it perfectly? No. But, by being obedient to the Word of God we will more and more walk like Jesus walked.
- If we are truly following Jesus, chairs two through four, we will be obeying the Word of God. And when we are disobedient, we will confess our sin and be forgiven (1 John 1:9).
1 John 2:7-11
- How can we know if we are following Jesus?
- John 13:34-35 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” That’s pretty clear. We will know if we are following Jesus if we are loving one another.
- 1 John 3:14 – We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
- Light always pushes out darkness. Darkness exists because of an absence of light. If it feels like darkness is encroaching in our community, it indicates that the light is fading. The church is the light, followers of Jesus are the light.
- Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
- So, how do we shine brighter and push back the darkness? This passage indicates that we are living in and as light when we love. Love pushes back darkness. (Must be biblical love, 1 Corinthians 13)
- We choose whether we will love or not, but we do not choose if we should love or not.
- Before we can love others with the love of Jesus, we first must be living in the love of Jesus. (1 John 4:19)
One final thought I have is how real, practical, and tangible following Jesus is. We can know if we are following Jesus by how we are literally living our lives day by day. There will be practical and tangible evidence of following Jesus. Am I pursuing and striving after complete obedience to God’s Word in the everyday, moment by moment, aspects of life? Am I loving others in such a way that it resembles how Jesus loved? Will people observe how I am living in my home, at work, in the community, with my time, my money, my relationships, my possessions and say, “They have been with Jesus.”?
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