1 John 1 – 2
Verse 1:2 is something that is difficult for most to understand:
and He showed us real life, eternal life. We have seen it all, and we can’t keep what we witnessed quiet—we have to share it with you. We are inviting you to experience eternal life through the One who was with the Father and came down to us.
John is inviting us to experience something he has 2000+ years ago, for most this is impossible to imagine. How can a man who lived that long ago change anything today? I cannot explain it, but He does!! The key to loving Jesus is not just embracing the story but to dive in an experience Jesus today. That alone is life changing!!
Verse 1:9 is not considered an “E-Ticket” for us:
But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done.
For those who have no idea what an “E-Ticket” is Disney use to have tickets to ride their rides, each book had A-E tickets. The A tickets got you in the “It’s A Small World” or other BORING rides and the E-Ticket got you into SPACE MOUNTAIN. So the “E-Ticket” got the more exciting ride.
In our lives the world tends to make us think that sinning is the “exciting” ride we are missing. We tend to think living as a Christian limits our fun in this world. What happens is we embrace the world and exploit this verse. I did it for years, thinking I can sin on Saturday and confess on Sunday for a right relationship with God. Oops!! God does not want us to drift back and forth between the world and Him. This is to protect us from when we mess up, not purposefully go out to sin.
Verse 2:15 is the warning:
Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them.
Evil will do anything it can to separate us from a right relationship with God. We can easily become the “prodigal son” and end up in a pig sty. God, like his father, will welcome us back, but never wants us going that direction in the first place. So keep your “eye on the ball” to focus on knocking it out of the park and not “hitting a foul”!! We follow our eye and when it takes us away from God, we lose our direction.