But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1: 12-13 (ESV)
We are ALL God’s children, right? Yes, we are ALL meant to be God’s children or He would not have created us. Perhaps a better description would be to say – ALL are invited to be God’s children but not ALL choose to be God’s children.
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears,
1 John 2:28 (ESV)
we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
After reading this verse and contemplating on the illustration on the panel to the right, a few images of historic people turned toward the darkness come to my mind.
I see Adam and Eve hiding from God in the garden after eating the forbidden fruit. In lieu of facing God, they hid from Him being ashamed of their sin.
They were the first to fall to the temptations of the devil and since then, the prince of darkness has never stopped trying to interfere in our relationship with God.
The Pharisees wearing distinguishing clothes and separating themselves from the uneducated. Ironically, they taught about the coming of the Messiah and did not even recognize Him.
In fact, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit attributing Jesus’ miracles to works of the devil.
They were so full of pride they chose their own darkness in lieu of the light that Jesus offered them.
Then there was Judas!
After participating in Jesus’ ministry, hearing His words first hand, and witnessing His miracles; Judas still goes on to betray the Messiah, the Savior of the world for 30 pieces of silver. His shame was so great that he took his own life.
We contrast that with Peter who denied Jesus 3 times but he chose to repent and ask for forgiveness. We can be assured that when Peter’s time had come, he was facing God “with confidence and not ashamed” when he was called home.
Where do we stand?
Will we face God in confidence without shame or will we hide in the darkness? The answer depends on how we can answer the following questions:
- Are we in a personal relationship with God or is He just some distant deity – or worse – do we reject Him completely?
- Do we truly believe Jesus’ work on the cross forgave us of our sins or do we carry guilt for sins that were forgiven over 2,000 years ago?
- Do we live truly as children of God looking towards heaven or do we turn our back on God and say “no thank you; we prefer the attractions this world has to offer like fortune, fame, and power”?
- Have we lived our lives in agreement with God’s will as guided by His Holy Spirit or did we pursue a life based on our own will?
- Are we focused on His promise, the life he promised in eternity or do we prefer the temporary pleasures this world has to offer?
- Basically, do we accept our inheritance as adopted children of God and do we walk out that life every day?
For those of us who are turned toward God, who choose to receive His light, we know we can be confident without shame when we see Him face to face.
But what about those of us who are not? How do we avoid the snares of the devil that Adam & Eve, Judas and the Pharisees fell prey to? How do we turn away from the darkness of this world and towards the eternal light of God’s world?
First, we must recognize those snares the devil uses to trap us. The apostle John provides us with the answer in this verse.
For all that is in the world
1 John 2:16 (ESV)
—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—
is not from the Father but is from the world.
John shows us the 3 tools the devil has at his disposal
- Desires of our flesh (Adam and Eve eating the delicious fruit)
- Desires of our eyes (Judas’ love of money)
- Pride of Life (The Pharisees who loved their stature in life)
Now that we know the snares, how do we avoid them? The answer is we don’t, at least not by ourselves. The apostle John tells us the “how” in this verse:
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
1 John 2:20 (ESV)
Jesus not only took our wrath and gave us salvation through His work on the cross, He also “anointed” us with His Holy Spirit. First, we need to accept and receive Jesus’ work on the cross, and then we need to look to the Holy Spirit and ask. In fact, I think the most powerful prayer is just these 4 words…”Holy Spirit help me”.
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…
Romans 8:16 (ESV)
Non-Believers
- Choose to walk in their flesh, which is like walking in the darkness and they will continue to stumble.
Believers
- Choose to walk in faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the light of God’s presence.
It is with the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we avoid the snares of sin that pull us towards this dark world. The Holy Spirit helps us to avoid a life in darkness. How? The Holy Spirit provides us with the gift of discernment to know deception from the truth.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,
1 John 3:9 (ESV)
for God’s seed abides in him;
and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Children of the dark are in the practice of sinning. Many probably even enjoy it, at least for a season or so. Children of God do not habitually practice sin but they have sinful setbacks. Rather than dwell in sin, they recover from their misstep like the Apostle Peter and turn back towards His light. By the way, Peter had his share of setbacks.
Yes, God’s children make mistakes but God has provided a provision for our mistakes. It is His grace and mercy purchased by the works of His Son on the cross.
John 3:16 (ESV) tells us everything we need to know … “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.”
Everything you want to know about how to live in this world
– Gabriel
and prepare for the next is in the Bible.
Leave a Reply