Ownership and Impact!

Ownership and Impact! 

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4 KJV

The Context:

John wrote a lot about the love of God. Well, he should know, as he experienced the love of God in ways that maybe not all the other disciples did. He it was as one of the three members of the  inner circle of Jesus' disciples, the one who rested his head on Jesus' breast at the last supper, asking Jesus who would betray him, and the one to whom he handed over his mother Mary at his crucifixion. He saw love from a very personal level; no wonder he could write about it so deeply in his letters. Yet, in that love is the sense of judgment that its rejection will bring: Jesus has done all he needs to do to bring us to Himself; the decision to accept the gift of love is a personal one. There are many false versions of the real thing, and it is my daily assignment to make sure I know that which is true and hold on to it for dear life. 

Why is that important? It is because there is a danger of losing that which is God's and finding that which is of the devil. The devil knows the power of the truth of God's love and will do anything to soil, pollute or exchange it for his own false variant. And that is the warning as well as the encouragement in today's extract: find out what God has given you, and hold on to it for dear life. Don't let the devil take that which is of God in you, and give you that which is of no eternal value.

The Message:

Some versions of today's extract use 'of God' and others use 'from God'; both underscore the importance of a person's origin, sustenance and destination. John writes to those who are of or from God. Am I one? As I take stock of where I am now, and what I have been through, can I say with a sense of certainty, that indeed, I am of God? This origin is the source of all I will ever become on earth, and where I will end up in eternity. If I am in God, I am assured of victory. Of course, if I am not, imagine the result. 

My location in God is the secret to all that God wants for me. It does not matter what my age is, or the number of years I have walked with God are; what matters is that I am found in God. Victory over the world isn't because you know the art of war, but because you know the Man of War. The world has its ways, means and methods, yet in all the centuries it has existed, it has not found a way to defeat God. It cannot, because this is the God who created all that the eyes can see, ears can hear and the mind can perceive. As long as the human mind can conceive it, it answers to the God of all creation. If all of creation therefore answers to God, what then is it that can overcome the one who is in, of or from God?

And it is important to note again the words of, from and in. Don't replace them with around, in front, behind or aware of God. You have to be of, in and from God. Men have sought to replace a personal relationship with God with church membership or active participation. Men know how to call the name, and because the name has power, it works wonders, but it does not impact the lives of those who call it. Jesus warns of this when he says: Not all who call to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven. Don't settle for human applause; make sure you have heaven's approval.

The Response:

Make sure you are in, of and from God. You can't be at peace until you have settled your eternal reality. The world has its distractions and false promises; it cannot guarantee you anything beyond this very moment. It can promise you the world, but then, that is all it has. It does not have eternal life in it so it is the wrong place to go if you seek life beyond physical death. The world cannot even keep its own away from the power of death. But the man who is in, of and from God is assured of protection from the hurt of the second death.

This world will come to an end one day. All that the eyes see will burn with fervent heat. Nothing of this earth will survive the fire that is coming, so I have to be sure that what I hold on to is that which will survive the fire that is coming. May God not reject me while the world is celebrating me. May my life reflect the presence of the One who rules and reigns over all the world. My pursuits must reflect my position in and possession by God. If indeed God is in me, He must be evident in me. Can this be said of me? What of you? His time of favour is here.