John gently encourages us by reminding us of the deep truths about Jesus. Jesus is the Righteous One, our Advocate with the Father, the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. With this in mind, John stresses what Jesus stressed in John's account of the Last Supper: that we should obey His commands and love one another. Once again, obedience and love are central to John's understanding of Jesus' message.
There is also an undercurrent of spiritual warfare. Jesus has come as God's light against evil. John recognizes that there is opposition to Christ. Sometimes this comes from the world (vs. 16) and sometimes it comes from the spirit of antichrist (vs. 22). John urges us to resist evil in whatever form it presents itself. If we remain in the Son and in the Father, John promises, we will receive eternal life.
As someone who also has in common with John the spiritual care of Christian believers, I can strongly relate to his concern for "continuing" or "remaining" in the faith. It is so disheartening to see people who were once running a good race falter and drop out. Perseverance is very under-rated.
Now, here's some fodder for your weekend reflections. You have doubtlessly heard some critics say, "The Bible is full of contradictions," although they rarely advance an example or evidence. But how do you reconcile these two verses we find in John's writings?
- John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
- I John 1:15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
What do you think? Is this a conflict? I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments!
I see Him speaking of love for the people in the world in John 3:16......THOSE who believe and of love for the things of the world here. A contradiction? No. A sad state? I think so. The Almighty Creator of all that is loves us enough to sacrifice His one and only Son to justify His created ones, and those same ones prefer to fix their minds, not on the wonder of Him, but on their next trip to the mall......
ReplyDeleteThis is a leap but I'll take a stab at it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps God's love is so powerful, and all-pervading that He is the only One capable of loving the world even though He knows the love won't be equally reciprocated. Maybe it is like God is saying "I love the world and that will never change. I sent my Son to show you that." But then He tells us, "Don't love the world, it will only break your heart." Love for the world is something only God is able to handle.
I like your thoughts! I wonder what the Greek words for "love" in each of those verses is! I will have to do some research...
ReplyDelete