This is Who We Are

My friends, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for Him when He appears, ready to receive Him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when He arrives.

Once you're convinced that He is right and righteous, you'll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God's true children.

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He's up to.

But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we do know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see Him—and in seeing Him, become like Him. All of us who look forward to His Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.

Everyone who indulges in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in Him, and sin is not part of His program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. Those who do practice sin do not know Him or understand who He is.

So, my dear friends, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the devil, who has been sinning since the very beginning. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the devil's ways.

People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God’s children (us!) to practice and parade around in sin. Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love others. It’s really a simple test.

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was right. So don't be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.

The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love each other. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a another person is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together!

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for those around us. I am not necessarily talking about dying to save someone, either. For instance, if someone has enough money to live well and sees a someone in need but turns a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear!

My dear friends, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything.

And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch out our hands and receive what we asked for because we're doing what He said, doing what pleases Him! Again, this is God's command: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He instructed us. As we keep His instructions, we live deeply and surely in Him, and He lives in us. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.

Have a wonderful Monday and a blessed week!

-John