November 2015

“I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have
been forgiven you for His name’s
sake. I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know Him who
has been from the beginning. I
am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the
evil one. I have written to you,
children, because you know the
Father. I have written to you,
fathers, because you know Him
who has been from the beginning.
I have written to you, young
men, because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in
you, and you have overcome the
evil one.” 1 John 2:12-14
For years I struggled in my Christian
walk to arrive at a place
where I could live my life according
to biblical principles. Most
people I have ministered to over
the years share this same desire:
to become all that God has created
them to be. As I observed
fellow believers, I would sometimes
envy those who seemed
to have it “all together,” who
seemed to live a life of “perfect”
biblical balance.
Yet, what I have found, through
years of counseling experience,
is that despite outward appearances,
most believers struggle
with deep inner issues -- issues
such as sin and lack of self-discipline.
As a Western Christian, I have
tried hard to do things “right.” I
have punched all the right tickets
on this train of life -- having completed
a university education,
obtained a modicum of success
in my professional career, and
have been faithful to the local
church.
Despite these “right” steps, in
many ways, I (seemingly) went
in the wrong direction. In truth, I
probably gave more emphasis to
psychology than to Bible training
and ministry. For many years, I
thought I had made a mistake in
the direction that I selected; yet,
today I am convinced the Lord’s
hand was in it all.
Through my selection of psychology
as a profession, God
has allowed me to study human
behavior, marriage and family
counseling, as well as to prepare
more fully for the ministry. You
see, the Lord knew the overall
plan and purpose for my life --
He knew the beginning, and He
knows the end.
The same is true for your life!
God knows where you are now,
and no matter how fragmented
the parts of your life might seem
at the moment, He knows where
you are going -- and your life
has a purpose! One thing is for
certain…his plan for us is to be
whole; complete; mature, which
begins when we are born again,
and continues throughout our
life in Christ.
Parallels
In this first letter by John to the
church, he writes of his purpose…which
is to see everyone
come into their maturity. If you
will, he presents three stages
of our growth in God (not our
worth, for we are fully in Christ
when we are born again), Children,
Young men and Fathers.
With each stage, there are goals
to be accomplished, issues to
be dealt with, and virtues to be
developed. Each are briefly discussed
below, while using some
illustrations for natural human
development.
Intimacy
I remember so well when my first
daughter was born. What beauty,
what potential…how frightening!
This new life was our primary
responsibility, as she was completely
dependent on our ability
to care for her. In similar ways,
new converts are very much like
children. Children have basic
needs, both naturally and spiritually.
In the natural, children need
love, to be fed and trained, with a
goal of preparing them for eventual
independent living. This all
starts with healthy bonding…intimacy,
between child and parent.
From a spiritual viewpoint, new
converts need to know that they
are truly forgiven of their sin
because of the name of Jesus
(Jesus’ reputation requires he
forgive when we seek him), and
that we know who our “daddy” is.
That is, we are not the child of
the world, the devil, religion, or
any competing philosophy, but
we are the children of God. This
knowledge provides the child of
God acceptance and security,
the foundation for future growth.
Our responsibility in the natural
and spiritual is to provide an
atmosphere of trust and love,
and provide necessary information
for success in life (basic
teaching, etc.).
Healing Community: Overcoming
Iniquity
In time, all children are to grow
in responsibility, characterized
by John as young men. From
a natural view, children must go
to school, learn to get along with
others, follow rules, etc. in Luke
2:52, the word says that Jesus
grew in wisdom and knowledge