Walking in Obedience | 1 John 2:1-14

Do you remember when you took your first steps as a kid? Me neither. I think my mom said I started walking when was a month old; I am an overachiever and there’s no proof. But nowadays, almost every kid, will be able to see their first steps on video because their helicopter parents filmed it on their phones.I remember when each of my kids started walking. As a parent you spend months waiting for it. First, they sit up, then they crawl, then they pull themselves up. Then one day they take a step and fall, take two steps, fall again, and eventually they put it together and everyone loses their mind in excitement. No one starts critiquing the toddler, “you know that’s not really walking because they only took a few steps.” Parents celebrate it because it is evidence of life and growth.When it comes to our new life in Jesus, God is not after perfection, just growth and movement towards Him.

In many ways, this is what John is talking about. He’s writing to believers who want to have assurance that they are going to heaven. They want to know, “Am I really a child of God?” John is writing to believers so that we can “know” that we have eternal life. There were false teachers who were claiming that they knew God while living however they wanted. They separated what they believed from how they behaved. But John says it is impossible to separate what you believe from how you behave. The evidence that we truly know Jesus is not sinless perfection, but a growing desire to obey Him and love others. When you know who you are, then you know how to live. Our assurance in heaven is the foundation and motivation for our walking in obedience and love on earth.