Reading Through The New Testament in 2016 - November 23rd- 1 John 3

1 John 3 talks about deliberate sin. What does the love of the father mean to you? When I think of my relationship with Jesus, I think of many things. I think of Jesus as my redeemer and savior. I see him as a King that rules over absolutely everything. I see him as someone who desperately wants to be in a relationship with me. And yes, all those things mean a lot to me. They are some of the countless reasons why I decided to make Jesus King over my life. But the main reason that makes me desperately fall in love with Jesus is that he allowed me to choose him. I am sitting in a Starbucks reading this chapter and reflecting on it, and I can’t help but be thankful that Jesus let us choose him.

But here’s the thing. God gave us everything. We see in this chapter how Christ laid down his life for us. His breath is in our lungs. He loves us so much. In fact, verse one of this chapter directly addresses this straight away. It talks about how much the Father loves us.

So now that we know that love, why would we choose to go against it? This chapter talks about how sinning intentionally and knowing it’s a sin just brakes God’s heart. It even goes further to say that those who do not strive for a righteous life and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

Sinning is a terrible thing, but God can still forgive. Sin is a part of our world, and is completely unavoidable. Let’s live in a way that brings us closer to God. Because our God gave us so much. He loves us so much that he wants us to choose him – creating a much more powerful bond than a robotic love. Is there an area in your life that you are sinning, knowing it’s a sin? What are you doing to take that away? How are you making yourself my righteous before God?