Yesterday we answered the question ‘Do you know Him?’ We discovered that the answer is found in our experiencing Jesus and living that experience out by how we live with others. We are still in the same place. Here’s another question coming from the words in v6, ‘to live in him’. Do you abide in Him?
“But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2 v 5-6)
The Spirit is the assurance that we are in Him (we will see this later in 4:13 “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit”) but here John says it is that we walk as Jesus walked. How was that? It is in what they have already received and heard in his gospel, the account of the earthly life of Jesus.
The words to ‘live in’ him are words that mean remain, stay or abide. It indicates endurance and durability. A Church I know are going through a season of practicing the presence of God by stillness, meditation and contemplation and they have correctly named this as ‘Abide’. The outcome of this will be that they walk as Jesus walked.
Set in the context of John saying our love for God is completed if we obey his word (and there is no greater command than to love God and love others) we must never underestimate the importance and the power of loving other people.
Love like Jesus loved.
It means sacrifice. It means not putting yourself first. It means going the extra mile. It means being available for others. Burnout doesn’t happen because you love others it happens because the reason to do so becomes flawed.
As we look like Jesus in our love then we know we are abiding in Him.
Missions Paul 