1 John 1:2-4

1 John 1:2-4

… and the life was being made visible.  And we have seen and we witness and we report to you all the eternal life that was from the Father and that was being revealed to us – that which we have seen and we have heard and we also proclaim to you all in order that you all should also have fellowship with us.  And even our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  And we write these things for the sake of our joy that has been made complete.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I like the verbs that John uses to continue the thought from verse 1.  Having seen, John and his associates give witness.  That is the pattern.  We see God; we witness to what we see.  As God reveals Himself in our life, we witness about it to the people around us.  It is that simple.

Where and when do you give witness?  What does your witness look like?

Second Thought:

John writes so that the boundary of fellowship might increase.  John already knows fellowship with God.  But he is not focused on being done because he is a part of the fellowship.  He desires that other people would be a part of that fellowship, too.  God has been gracious and invited us to participate into a fellowship to which we have no right to belong.  The least we can do is continue the work of Christ and invite other people into the same fellowship to which we all have no right to belong.

How do you go about inviting people into this fellowship?  Do you ever pause and judge who should be invited into the fellowship with God?  Why is it important to remember that none of us deserve this fellowship?

Third Thought:

Let’s look at what drives John to write these letters.  He is writing these letters because his joy has been made complete.  He doesn’t write in order to complete his joy.  He doesn’t write – and help people find God – because he is trying to earn God’s favor.  Rather, he writes because he already has God’s favor. His joy has been made complete.  John’s joy has been made complete in the past – the death and resurrection of Christ – and because of that John can write.  He writes not t find salvation or prove himself saved.  He writes because he has already been saved by a gracious and loving God.

Has your joy been made complete?  Do you ever find yourself trying to earn a love from God that God has already given to you freely?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 1:5-10