28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 2:28-30
A while ago I saw a guy in the pub with a T Shirt on saying, look busy Jesus is coming, which beautifully lines up with John’s argument here. He concludes this section on sin by encouraging us to think of the second coming of Christ. They believed that the return of Christ was imminent and they wanted to be living holy lives when he returned so that he would welcome them with open arms and praise. Imagine if Jesus came back today and looked at the way that you were living, how would he react? What would he say to you?
Now, this is not a natural way for us to think two thousand years later. While every generation believes that Jesus could return soon, there isn’t the same level of expectation and pressure as there was in the early church. So, it is easy to skip past this idea but I think that it is worth reflecting on. John’s assertion is that if Jesus returned today that he would react to our lives and that our activity or inactivity would affect our relationship with him. If that is true, then it must also be true now (before his return) and it must be affecting our relationship right now. That doesn’t mean that God rejects us or doesn’t forgive but that sin has a consequence on our relationship.
Often I think about if Jesus was here, would he be doing it like this? Would he be doing my career like this? Would he be like this in my marriage? What does following Jesus look like in this context? John’s point feels more urgent - what does Jesus think as we make our choices every day? What would he say if he just turned up? Of course, for John this isn’t a hypothetical question or a thought exercise. Jesus is coming back. He refused to live in a way that did not lead him closer to God and his amazing dream for our world.
He fully expected Jesus to return and so should we.
Reflect
- If Jesus returned today and saw your life, what would he say to you?
- In what ways does sin affect your relationship with God?
Respond
The amazing thing about Christianity is that we do not believe God is far away and impersonal. Rather, he is accessible and present in your life. So, you are able to pause, breathe, close your eyes and ask him, ‘What are you saying today, Lord?’ How would he answer?
