WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Why, do you suppose, is the proclamation ‘Christ is Lord’ offensive to so many people today? Final instructions As this letter closes, John still has a lot he wants to cram in. Perhaps he was running out of paper! There are things he has said once already but wants to underline one last time. Look at verses 18, 19 and 20: ‘We know ...’ There are other things he has forgotten to say earlier, for example his instructions on prayer (vs 14–17), especially for those in danger of losing their faith. But perhaps the strangest verse is the last, verse 21: ‘Keep yourselves from idols.’ What an odd way to end! John, in all likelihood, wrote this letter from Ephesus. Looking out of his window, the city skyline was dominated by the temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, also known as Artemis. The real thing John was well aware of the danger posed by false teaching and false gods, but he is saying something more than just ‘stay away’. He is saying: ‘Don’t accept substitutes. Don’t settle for second best. Only the real thing will do.’ Today the uniqueness of Jesus, the eternal Son of God, is under attack. But he is the only one who can show us what God’s love is really like. The Christian life calls for real commitment. Anything else just isn’t the real thing. Respond: In your Christian life do you ever settle for less than the real deal? What might you do about it? http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-10-03