Category: 1 John

Rooted in…

~ Steve Vandop ~ Leave a comment

Anyone living on the West Coast of BC who has attempted to dig a hole in the ground for a fence post or drainage line knows the irritations of digging around roots. These intricate networks of tenacious tentacles work their way into the pathway of most ground projects. As frustrating as they may be to us, they are the life-giving support that sustain the life and growth of the tree above. 

Recently in my studies I was given a question to reflect on and answer, “What is the root of the gospel?” Our mandate as Christ followers is to share the “good news” of the gospel with others; to invite them into the truths and the promises that come when we put our hope and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. The core that gives power to this good news is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But what is at the root of the core, the root of the gospel? 

Before we can answer that question, we need to know what the gospel is. The word gospel translated from “euangelion” means good news, it is the news or message of God’s salvation for his people. Salvation is the rescue from sin and death.Full of grace and mercy it is the reconciliation and restoration of a once beautiful and trusting relationship between God and his people. 

We all live in a world that has been affected by the power of sin. Sin is the “bad news” that tries to overshadow the message of the good news or gospel. For the good news to outshine the bad, its roots must be grounded deep into a life-giving source. So, what might this be? 

The root of the gospel, this good news is LOVE.

John 3:16 is probably one of the most well-known Bible verses that describes this incredible love that the gospel is rooted in. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

This verse captures the message of the gospel in a few short yet powerful words and presents love as the catalyst that ties the events of Jesus’ death (the core) to God’s incredible love (the roots) for the world He created. 

God’s love for us is incomprehensible on a human level. The world has defined love in so many ways that many have dismissed the power and truth of God’s love for them. God’s love for us needs to be the love we reflect to others so that they will see and know him. As stated previously our mandate as Christ followers is to share the gospel. As the gospel is rooted in God’s love, then we are to love others just as he loves us. Easy to say or write, hard to do sometimes.  

When the root (God’s love) of the gospel takes hold in our lives, when we accept that what Jesus did for us through the cross, our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is made right. Our lives should reflect that change. How do we share the good news with love? 1 John 3:18 says “let us love not with words or speech but with actions and in truth”. 

We have all heard the term “actions speak louder than words” before. God proved his love to us through the action taken on the cross through Jesus. Knowing that the gospel is rooted in love what action(s) can you think of that will see those roots grow into the lives of others?

Download a printable PDF here:Download

Right Under Your Nose.

~ Steve Vandop ~ Leave a comment

Search

Have you ever been looking for something and it was right there in front of you?  Whether it is the Ketchup bottle in the fridge, the invoice on the top of the pile or solution to a simple question. Often these things are “right under our nose” and for some reason we cannot see it, most often what we are looking for is in a place it can be clearly seen. This is an interesting phenomenon and I am sure it happens to most of us.

There is a message in the book of 1 John that should jump right off the page and hit us in the nose. This is a message that is so important and relevant to our lives that we may at times not see it. John writes, “I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.” (That is the name of Jesus Christ). In other words, on account of his love for us, we have been saved from the consequences of sin and death. Twice John explains this in his writing, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (3:16). “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (4:9-10).

God’s love for us is revealed throughout scripture and it is important to understand that He calls us into a relationship of love and obedience. “We love because he first loved us” (4:19). “This is love for God: to keep his commands.” (5:3). When we focus on these verses it seems so simple, but life in this world has a way of clouding the purity and goodness of God’s love for us. One of the difficult things we live with are the temptations and desires of this world, John reminds us that “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (2:17) God’s love is everlasting, this might be hard for us to comprehend when we go through the trials and temptations of life, and it is easy to say when life is going well. God gives us his word so that we can be reminded of his love, it is a word of truth and we must always remember like John says “God is Love.” (4:16) The answers to life, to knowing and understanding God’s love for us and the love we are to have for one another are right under our nose, in His word.

Walking in the Light

~ Steve Vandop ~ Leave a comment

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

When I think of light in the physical sense of seeing an image or a display of light one that continues to amaze me and often stops me for a moment is God’s creative display of light in the colors of the rainbow. Not only is this a reminder of God’s promise to never flood the entire world but I see it as a reminder of who He is, the light in the darkness after a storm.

When we walk in the light, when our lives are focused on God and know that we will fall into the darkness because of sin we can always find forgiveness from God for our shortcomings. When we are honest with ourselves and honest with God (confessing our sins) He is faithful to forgive us. Our sinful nature will continue to pull us towards the darkness as long as we are walking on this earth. Even as we are truly walking in the light we will always need forgiveness and I am thankful that through Christ dying on the cross those sins are covered.

When we walk in the light, when we can see through the darkness our lives will be filled with His love. This love becomes a light in our lives and can shine so others can see and know the love God has for us.

Steve.

Love

~ Steve Vandop ~ Leave a comment

46 times in 26 out of 105 verses you can find the word love in the book of 1 John, this is the first thing that struck me today as I read through this book. Obviously the author (whom we presume is the apostle John) had a point to make about love. Not to downplay the other themes of walking in the light and understanding and believing that Jesus is the Christ this subject of love is what jumps out at me today.

My favorite verse in this book is 4:18 particularly the first half that reads, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” God’s love for us is incredible, when we know and believe that God showed us His love by sending His one and only Son into the world to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins we can’t help but share that love with others.

Here we have John pouring out his heart for the people to remember the foundations of their faith, believing in the basic understanding of how God loves us, how God is the light in this dark world, a reminder that through Jesus our sins have been forgiven. John reminds us that when we experience and know God’s love we will be prepared to face the challenges and actions of the world that face us each day.

As we grow into leadership and relationship with others it is this love that John talks about that needs to shine through us.