1 John 5:19-20 NIV “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
1 John 5:19-20 Message
“We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.”
These words written by the apostle John are so encouraging to me today. They penetrate my heart as a promise that I don’t have to live as “the world” does…a slave to sin. I’m drawn to the words “we are in him who is true”. I have always thought of Jesus living in ME… a more self- centered approach. J John says that by knowing Jesus, we are in HIM. I’ve been thinking about what that really means. I wonder if it means that we are on HIS mission. We have HIS heart and HIS eyes. We want what HE wants, and we mourn for what HE mourns.
It is interesting that the idea of being on HIS mission refreshes me, but so often, I’m on my mission. Specifically, I am in sales. The world that I work in is fueled by greed. Many of the behaviors (selfishness, competitiveness, conceit, etc.) that I believe God is trying to reform in me are the same behaviors that are rewarded in my industry. Many times, I forget who I am in Christ, and enter into this world…“under control of the evil one.” I become overwhelmed with stress. I spend much of my time fretting over people who have wronged me, or neglected to give me enough credit, or how things are unfair. I play out all of the nasty things I want to say to them in my head, and sometimes I engage in gossip among my teammates (for which I am so ashamed). I begin looking for fault in everyone around me, and I easily find it. And I feel miserable!!
And then Jesus will nudge me, and I will remember that I don’t belong to the world. I remember that I live in Him, and there is freedom in that. I don’t have to keep track of wrongs done to me, or worry about perfect performance. I don’t have to make sure that my boss/coworkers give me credit where credit is due. I can rest in the fact that I belong to Jesus who is “eternal life”. Because I belong to him, I am not under control of the evil one.
Thank you, Jesus! I pray that you give me a new heart. I pray that you help me to love the people I work with the way that you do. I pray that I don’t forget who my real boss is…that I would be about YOUR work… all the time.
Erin Jay