Pleasing in His Sight

"Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.  We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."  1 John 3:19-22

I really love this letter.  John writes in such an endearing, encouraging fashion, referring repeatedly to the addressees (his brethren in Christ) as "little children" or "beloved."  Perhaps being called a "little child" by John the Apostle is not so appealing to you, but do remember that these words were inspired by the Holy Spirit; think of this as God's way of reminding us that we are indeed His beloved children.

In this passage, John is once again prodding us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.  He makes a very clear case in verse 17, where he asks, "Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?"  What a prick to the conscience!  How many times have we failed to make small sacrifices- whether it be money, time, or simply attitude- for the sake of others?  I, for one, have often tried to ignore a request that I know will cost me in some way.  John is pleading with us to put aside our selfishness and let God's love shine through, for this is what unifies us as Christians (Colossians 3:14).

Aside from being generous with what we have, how are we to show love?  If we flip the page for a moment to 2 John verse 6, we find an answer: "And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments."  Many of us, upon hearing the word "commandments," automatically think of the Ten Commandments.  Let's look at those for a moment (Exodus 20, if you'd like to review them).  As I see it, we can divide them into two sections: the first four are about our relationship with God; the last six, our relationships with others. Honour your father and your mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet.  Obviously, there are many more rules about how to treat people than these, but the fact that six of the Ten Commandments are written concerning our relationships with others is quite significant.

One of our most important witnesses as Christians is the way we interact with people on a day-to-day basis.  If we let our selfish desires take priority over the love God wants to fill us with, there is no witness.  In fact, we are hypocrites; for we stand in church Sunday mornings singing about love, and then, upon leaving, take up the bitterness and jealousy and anger and selfishness that we hung on the coat rack a few hours prior.  This is not what we, as Christians, are called to; a life lived in love on Sunday mornings is empty and futile compared to the life Christ has planned for us if we abide in His perfect love.

John goes on to explain one of the rewards for living such a lifestyle.  "We will know by this [our love for others] that we are of the truth."  As humans, we are prone to fear and doubt. Fear of what people will think of us, fear of what God will say to us when our time comes, doubt about what are true motives are and whether we are truly saved.  We are promised, however, that a life lived for God and for others will bring assurance of our salvation, for only by God's power can we become such loving friends to the brethren.

A common theme in today's popular culture is "follow your heart."  Well, I've got some news for you, and it comes straight from verse 20: "God is greater than our heart and knows all things."  The idea of following one's heart is very romantic and appealing, but when you stop to think about it, what is your heart following?  Typically, what this entails is a pursual of your own desires.  I have yet to find a passage in the Bible that instructs us to pursue our deep yearnings- perhaps a lifetime goal, perhaps a relationship, perhaps a career.  Rather, we are asked to sacrifice these all to God and ask Him to put His desires in our heart.  I pray I never follow my heart until it is completely in tune with God's heart, and my longings echo His.  And very simply, what is God's will? For us to be filled with His love both for our fellow Christians and for the unsaved.  When this love takes over, all our own desires fade into the background and we begin to pursue the well-being of others, rather than ourselves.

John closes this passage with some strong encouragement.  This is what he tells us: "If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God."  Each one of us is inconveniently provided with a conscience.  For those who choose a life of sin, this conscience is slowly dulled and silenced, until they can sin freely with very little guilt.  But for those of us who yearn to follow God with a sincere heart, and who are dedicated to studying His word and spending time in prayer, our conscience- in this verse, our heart- is constantly sharpened by the Holy Spirit.  We are continually being molded into God's image, and our ability to separate right from wrong grows ever stronger.  If we listen to that conscience and always follow God's prodding through it, there comes a point when we can come to God in prayer without being ashamed of the way we are living or the little things we mess up every day.  What an awesome feeling that must be!  Imagine, coming before the Lord and being able to say, "God, I followed Your plan for me today. What have you got next?"  We are also told that whatever we ask we receive from Him because we follow His commandments.  Note that at this point, your desires are God's, so you're obviously not going to ask for a Ferrari.  When we pray earnestly for God's will to be done, and are willing to be used by Him to that end, we will surely see prayers answered.

What a high goal to aim for!  Loving is not an easy thing to do; there are many who, by our standards, do not deserve our love.  But bear this in mind: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  What kind of love does it take for the holy God of the universe to give His life as the price for our sins?  When somebody is your life is proving very difficult to show love to, think of them as a sinner just like yourself- somebody who Jesus saw as valuable enough to die for- and then reconsider whether or not you are able to love them. God will give you strength.  May we become such Spirit-filled children of God; may we "keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."  It won't be easy, but this is what we are called to.  We have a responsibility to pursue God's love.  So let's get down to business.