The Truth Uncomfortable
Jesus was the most hospitable person who ever lived. He was constantly going out of his way to make people feel welcome.
“Come unto me, all who are heavy laden.”
“Let the little children come to me, and to not hinder them….”
At every turn, Jesus stood with arms wide open….even to the point of being spread on a cross.
He held nothing of His heart in reserve….yet He seemed a paradox, because this God-man who welcomed all did not always make all comfortable. Sometimes, the presence that people were so quickly welcomed into was almost too much for them to stand in.
Sometimes, the miraculous power of Jesus caused people to draw close and then shrink back.
Once, Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat to row out away from the shore and teach.. Almost as if to say thank you, Jesus sends Peter and the boys back out to dip the nets one more time. Peter tells him, “We have fished all night, there’s nothing out there, but if you say so…”, and of course, they were inundated with fish.
The combination of the wisdom of the teacher and the display of a miracle had a curious effect on Peter. He grew uncomfortable.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Luke 5:8
This Sunday’s passage - 1 John 3 - demonstrates John the Beloved, a tender hearted man, using some of the same confrontational love that we saw in Jesus’ life. In rapid fire form, through all five chapters of 1 John, the author gives us uncomfortable truth after uncomfortable truth .
We study these passages because as a people following Jesus, we value an uncomfortable truth more than a comfortable lie.
In 1 John 3:10, he starts with a passage that might make one squirm with two parts anticipation and one part dread.
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are children of the devil….. 1 John 3:10
And with that, he prepares to layout a simple way of determining who was wholeheartedly God’s and who belonged to the evil one.
Forget this is written on an ancient script. Imagine this pronouncement was made around the Thanksgiving dinner table. This would make for some awkward table talk. We’d rather leave such matters to our own personal consideration, but John wants the ideas to go public.
This is where we’re going to go on Sunday morning, February 6. What are the markers that John lays out to separate the children of God from the children of the evil one, and what do John’s words say about us?
