"Little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming" (1 John 2:28).
John addresses his readers as "little children" many times, but don't think he is looking down on them. And from their side, it is not an insult. After all, he was a respected Apostle, one who had heard, seen, looked, and even touched the risen Jesus (1 John 1:1). They were happy to receive this letter and the instruction with it. One of the bits of instruction that John pointed to was their readiness. It was a fact, Jesus was coming back. At some point, he would appear again like he left (Acts 1:10-11). When will this happen? Only God the Father knows (Matth 24:36). We, those who live in the time until he does, simply need to be ready (Matt 24:44).
How are we to be ready? Continue in prayer (1 Peter 4:7), watch out for the misleading of false prophets (Matthew 7:15), ground yourself in the word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17), and always be prepared to share the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).
Lastly, John uses the word abide several times throughout this letter. Abide points to agreeing with a discussion or judgment. So, in this case, when we abide in him, we are loving the way he loves, caring for others like he desires, presenting ourselves as different people, holy, righteous, and blameless at his coming.
This all begins when we have a relationship with God's Son, Jesus Christ. If you would like to know more about how you can have that relationship, email me here.
Pastor Walt
Philemon 6
