This morning I had to prepare for a ‘focus’ that I am to give tomorrow for the Cornerstone Scripture study. We are studying 1 John and I had the short passage of 1 John 4:1-18. There is a treasure chest of lessons that can be plucked out of this passage, however in giving a ‘focus’ we are to basically ‘pick one’ and run with it. I do believe God gave me my direction last night so I thought I’d share this passage and focus with you.
1 John 4:1-18
“Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh be longs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit. Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.”
Recently my oldest son, who is in 6thgrade, had an emotional breakdown. His hormones are surging and he is realizing life isn’t as easy as it once used to be. With growth comes responsibility. He is in the midst of doing his first research paper – all on his own. Finding sources, making note cards, coming up with a thesis, etc etc. He is even getting off easy because the teacher is going to go over how to do an outline in class! However, what tipped off the sudden rise of emotion was realizing he actually had to have notes taken from the books he checked out for the report. You see, he found them, he turned in the information for the bibliography….but he failed to actually read them.
Now it’s coming to crunch time and he is scared. He is scared of doing something wrong. He is distraught because he didn’t listen in the first place and now he has only so many hours to work this out on top of it being the last week of rehearsal before the big play he is in this weekend. And he is uncertain of what to do for a 1st draft because he has never done it before.
He is distraught, he is fearful of what will happen if he’s not prepared and he is uncertain because he is doing something he has never done before.
How many of us can relate to these emotions? I know I can!
Neal and I couldn’t sit back and watch him come undone. We sat him down and tried to help him understand what needed to be done first, to take a deep breath and recognize that he held the ability to do everything that needed to be done if he just did it one step at a time. Just when we thought we had him calmed down and prepared to conquer the task he erupted in new tears.
We were stunned. What was wrong now? He said he felt guilty because we were being so nice. 🙂
Or shall we call it remorse? 😉
I can’t help but correlate this example with this week’s lesson. We first learn to be weary of false prophets and listening to the lies of the world. The passage speaks briefly on discerning the spirit of truth over deceit. This can come in so many forms and in my son’s example it was in the form of procrastination and laziness. He is an intelligent young man who is used to things coming easy to him. He assumed this would come easy as well and was deceived by his own lack of humility.
The lesson quickly turns us into God’s fold as He addresses us a His ‘beloved’ and then reminds us that we are ALL His beloved. That if He is love then we are ALL love and to learn to love one another. However, the key to accepting this is to know God as love.
When I was in my high school years I did not know God as love. All I could see in Him was the fear and uncertainty I had for my life because I knew my actions were not what God would be ‘proud’ of…I could not see how He would or could love me when I was messing up so badly. I was taken over by the spirit of deceit, caught up in the world.
As I listened to my son go through his ‘breakdown’ I could recognize the emotions he was experiencing through so many aspects of my life before I knew God’s love. In that moment of breaking down we do not see the ‘hope’ or feel the ‘worth’ we have in God.
Neal and I approached Ryan with love, nurturing advice and support. We were not letting him off ‘easy’ but instead trying to bring him back to the abilities he has been given all along. He was allowing the fear of failure to control him. We showed him love and when he realized his worth and knew he could go forward and do the best he could do he suddenly felt guilty – why? Because we love him? That too is the spirit of deceit trying to block out truth – holding on to the bitter end.
How often do we experience those same range of emotions and then get calmed down by someone who shows us care and love? And then we feel so bad because we feel we’ve burdened them?
It’s going to be an on going cycle in our lives until we can fully grasp God as LOVE. In fact, we should keep this passage taped to our mirror daily so we can be reminded that we are His “Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God.”
Blessings
Shannon