Shame? or Confidence!

You know, sometimes it's not what the Bible says, but what it does NOT say.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2 ESV

Jesus is coming back again. And how can we have confidence and not shrink back in shame when he comes? I would think the answer might be live perfectly, be sinless, or be holy like God. But that's not what the word says. What does it say? The key to having confidence and not shrinking from him in shame at his coming is abiding in him. That's it! Abide in him!


If you are interested in what it means to abide in him, here are some thoughts in answer to that very question:

But back to abiding in him...I think the picture of the vine and the branches helps us to see what this means. The branch cannot bear fruit without being connected to the vine, it can't even live without that connection. So Jesus is the source of our spiritual life. And this means we need to be nourished by him with his word, but also talk to him, cry out to him, and spend time with his people, to be encouraged in the truth and love one another. Abiding in him speaks much more of relationship than just doing all the right things.

The Cost of Freedom

I was reading The Sign of the Beaver with the kids. As the main character was walking through the forest, he came across a fox gnawing off its leg to escape an iron snare. The author commented:

"He was struck by the bravery that could inflict such pain on itself to gain freedom." p. 65

 At first my thoughts went to the brave people of the American Revolution who were willing to die for their freedom. Later I thought of the Pilgrims and others who left known comforts for religious freedom.

But then my thoughts went in a different direction...

As Christians, how much pain are we willing to inflict on ourselves or allow ourselves to experience to gain freedom from our sin?