Greetings saints,

Hey there!  One of my absolute favorite letters in the Bible is 1 John! Why, you ask? Because it beautifully shows us how we can have an intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe! Isn’t that amazing? While I will be selecting a few verses for the next few days, I encourage you to read this brief letter, and I hope you will understand why I love it so much.

When we come to faith in Jesus, God cleanses us so that we may live Christlike lives. In chapter 1 and verse 7, we read: ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

I don’t know if the Family Circus cartoon is still being made, but it used to appear in the newspaper when I was growing up. One particular cartoon was titled “Not Me.” It showed the kids as ghostly figures, and every time Mom asked who broke the lamp or ate all the cookies, the ghostly-figured child would say, “Not Me!”

Notice John’s words in 1:5-10 — ⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Therefore, the next time you feel anger and direct it towards a loved one, please refrain from dismissing it as "righteous indignation." The next time you consider misrepresenting your income taxes, do not rationalize your actions by thinking, "Everyone is doing it." Furthermore, do not respond with bitterness or indifference when your spouse expresses a desire to converse. Additionally, never claim—even in your dreams—to be without sin. Accept your place among the rest of us: weak, vulnerable, striving, and occasionally faltering, yet walking honestly with God and others, and, by God's grace, improving upon who we have been and who we are.

I found the following poem written in the Herald of Light anonymously:

There may be virtue in the man

Who’s always sure he’s right,

Who’ll never hear another’s plan

And seek no further light;

But I like more the chap who sings

A somewhat different song;

Who says, when he has messed things up,

“I’m sorry; I was wrong.”

It’s hard for anyone to say

That failure’s due to him—

That he has lost the fight or way

Because his lights burned dim.

It takes a man aside to throw

The vanity that’s strong,

Confessing, “Twas my fault, I know;

“I’m sorry; I was wrong.”

And so, I figure, those who use

This honest, manly phrase,

Hate it too much their way to lose

On many future days.

They’ll keep the path and make the fight,

Because they do not long

To have to say—when they’re not right—

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Let’s not deceive ourselves, for when we do, we are indeed walking in darkness.

Blessings,

Gene