Reluctant Retiree

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” I John 3:17-18

“I love you!”. Three little words with a world of impact. But these words can be shallow and empty at times. When our words do not match our actions, our words loose their impact.

God has given us a great and amazing love, by giving His only Son to die for us and take on the just punishment for our sins. His love is steadfast, abundant and eternal. God demonstrated His love by giving His Son. He loves us, and expects us to love others in the same way. That means that our actions must display love. One way to do that is when we see someone with legitimate needs and we are moved by love to help. We gave give what we can and we can do what we can to help, thereby demonstrating real love.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. An everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” I John 3:2-3

Christians are not perfect people. We make mistakes and sometimes even sin. But we are people who are growing and maturing in our faith. When we first believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it was through childlike faith that we became His children. As we mature in the faith, we seek to become more like Jesus. Our goal is purity, just as He is pure. This becomes our desire because we love Him because He first loved us. When Jesus returns for us, we will become instantly like Him, just by seeing Him.

Have you ever walked with someone in the dark? It can be so dark that you have to maintain physical contact to make sure that you are still together. Otherwise, you can become separated and even begin to go in different directions. Sometimes we all need a guide or counselor to help us through the dark places in our lives.

I John 2:10 says, “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” The key to walking with God in the light is love. When we love God and love others the Scripture teaches us that we are close to God, maintaining contact with Him, even in the hard places of life. Then we are walking in the secure steps of righteousness with a loving Father.

I have always been confused by the use of terms like partly sunny and partly cloudy. They seem to describe the same weather conditions to me. I looked it up and partly sunny means that the weather is moving from clouds and/or rain toward sunshine, while partly cloudy means the opposite conditions are occuring, moving from sunshine to clouds and/or rain. The weather person also use terms like mostly sunny and mostly cloudy which refer to how many clouds there will be.

I John 1:5 says, “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.” We cannot use the terms partly or mostly when referring to God’s light. He is completely, wholely, and always fully light. No darkness has ever been in Him and darkness will never become a part of Him. Similarly, we cannot walk partially in darkness or sin and still claim to know God and walk with Him. We must remove ourselves completely from sin and walk in His marvelous light. We must disengage ourselves from the sins that have a hold on us by the power of God’s Spirit and through the redemption of Jesus. Then we can walk in the light of God.

During every election year, the candidates make many promises. When elected they often fail to fulfill their promises for many reasons. Advertising makes many promises as well. Some are outrageous and cannot be fulfilled and others are just misleading. Friends and family often make promises to us, but cannot, or will not choose to, fulfill their promises. Broken promises in all areas of our lives are common.

II Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” The Bible is full of God’s promises. Some are for all people, but many are just for those who believe in Him. We should search God’s Word for His promises and trust Him to fulfill each one for us. He has never failed to fulfill a promise and He never will.