And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. (23-24)
I have been reading a lot from John the Apostle lately and I am struck by how simple (and yet how profound) our relationship with Christ should be. The bottom line is that we have just one job; that job is to believe in Jesus. You might think, “Well there must be more because many who claim to believe do not live like they believe.” There is some truth to this, but it is not because we must do something in addition to believing. Instead, it is because the biblical definition of believing is a kind of faith that changes us and changes the world. John is fond of phrases like “remain in Him” and “abide in Christ.” To believe in Jesus is not mere mental assent that He existed or absorbing knowledge about Him from the bible. When John says we must believe in the Son, he means we must have faith in Him, we trust in Him, we rest in Him, we abide in Him, we remain in Him… it is a kind of belief that makes Him preeminent in our life and that transforms us from the inside out.
With that truth in mind, consider John’s very last words in this letter, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” (1 John 5:21) Believing in Jesus means that He has first place in your heart. We must be careful to not let anything else creep in and take His place. So many things in this world are competing for our attention; some are important and some are just frivolous. While Jesus must be Lord and first in our hearts, John also commends us to love each other. There are bad things that compete for our affections, but even some good things can take the place of the best thing if we are not careful. In this holiday season, love your neighbor, spend time with your family, serve in your church, enjoy the blessings that God has given you… but never let anything take God’s place in your heart. He must be first and He alone deserves your worship. You have just one job, believe in Him and remain in perfect fellowship with Him.
