1 John 2:3-6 “We know that we have come to know (God) if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
Boom. Those have to be the 4 most dangerous verses in the Bible. Seriously! If that’s not black and white and politically incorrect in our religious culture than I don’t know what is.
A year or two ago, I thought I lived in Him. I did what I was told. I read my Bible every so often, I wasn’t rebellious, I prayed, I tithed, I raised my hands during worship. After this year on the Race I look back at that time and shake my head. I had no freaking clue. None. And looking at the church now only makes me more certain of it- most have us have no freaking clue! We have no idea how much we don’t get these verses and how far we are from God.
So if you’re intrigued by this, the next logical step is starting to walk like Jesus, right? To truly know God. But, do you know what walking like Jesus really looks like? Have you read the Bible? See, Jesus didn’t wear a suit and go to all the prayer meetings and say all the “right” things and live a complacent, normal life. Most of the time, Jesus looked like He should be in an insane asylum. He walked into funerals and commanded dead people to get up. He grabbed a whip and chased vendors out of the temple. He used gross figures of speech when He preached. He picked arguments and challenged religious leaders who thought they knew it all. He healed people and did mind-blowing miracles in public. He spit in the dirt and rubbed it on someone’s eyes to heal them. He hung out with prostitutes, money collectors and religious leaders. He woke up before sunlight and spent hours talking to God. He didn’t have personal possessions to speak of. He didn’t care if people knew He was a leader. He wasn’t concerned with making money or climbing the corporate ladder or buying the American Dream. He didn’t care if His body was in physical danger. He didn’t blink when He was told that people wanted to kill Him. He wasn’t surprised when He got beaten. He was insane.
Now, if you’re freaking out a little and trying to explain away what I just wrote, read the verses again at the top of the page….. maybe even read some Bible stories to check up on my facts. If you believe the Bible is true than you should believe this. Seems pretty direct to me. Knowing God = living like Jesus. But why on earth would we do that? See, here’s the tiny thought that brought me on the Race last year and the amazing realization that keeps me going even though I screw up and wimp out all the time-
HIS LOVE IS WORTH IT.
And if you don’t think His love is a fair reward for looking like an idiot the rest of your life, than you have not truly encountered His love and you do not truly know Him. His love is powerful and you would know if you’d encountered it. If you did… if you even had the tiniest realization of His love for you… if you really did… you would drop anything to encounter it more and more. You would collapse to the floor and sob if you encountered one beat of His heart. You would cross oceans and countries and cultures to get closer to Him. You would get uncomfortable and weird and scared for Him. You would know that a savings account and a 401k are worthless compared to knowing Him more. You would know that crossing the room for that person and looking awkward is nothing compared to the love and peace you’ll encounter because of obedience.
It says in verse 5 that “if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is made complete in him.” I want that. For His love to be made complete in me. If we step out in this radical, insane obedience and really walk as Jesus did, we will start encountering more deeply His love for us. And again, if we don’t think His love is worth it, than we haven’t truly encountered Him. See, Jesus knew. He didn’t care what He looked like here on earth because He knew how much God loved Him (and us) and how much that love was worth. God IS love. If Jesus didn’t think God/love was worth it, He wouldn’t have radically died on the cross for our sins.
If Jesus thought dying for this love was worth it, what do we think think it’s worth and how can we give anything less than our lives for it?
What would you do right now if you knew His love was worth it?
