1John 2:5-6.
2:5. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
2:6. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
–NKJ
How do people know that we are Christians? There is a well known hymn, and bible verse that declares that, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” It’s true, people should know us by our love above anything else. People can still know in other ways, both for the things we passively, and actively do.
The opening phrase, “But whoever keeps His word,” sounds like it might be an activity, a thing for Christians to do. I’ll get to that more in a moment. To keep comes from the word to safeguard. Now what does that mean? If I had any valuable item, a Rolls Royce, a gold and diamond piece of jewelry, fancy dress clothes, I would do well to use them and show them off. I probably wouldn’t dress in a tuxedo to do the daily chores. I would safely guard it and store it away. If I had a Rolls Royce, I would gladly cruise around in comfort in it, but I wouldn’t park it on the street, along the curb. It would be safely tucked away, and locked in a garage when I wasn’t driving it.
The words, commands, and teachings of Jesus are valuable treasures. We should spend time in prayer, reading the Bible, and so forth. We don’t do those things continuously through the day. It isn’t practical. But those valuable things should never be compromised. Keep them safely locked away in the vault of your heart and mind. Don’t let them become compromised.
Safeguarding is a passive thing we can do. It may not make others fully recognize that we are Christians, but it will show in the integrity of our actions as we go about the daily grind of life.
This verse is saying that the person who safeguards the words of Jesus. To this very same person, God will be allegiant to. God will be loyal and true to do something.
“The love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” The love, agape love, of God is perfect in that very same person. To be perfect is to be complete, finished, accomplished, consumated, fulfilled, get the idea? God’s character will come spilling out into how we live our lives. That is the undeniable sign that the person who claims to be a Christian, and safeguards the commands, and words of Jesus is genuine.
There is a common saying among Christian circles that says to spread the Gospel using all means available, and when all else fails to use words.
To drive the point home, John includes the statement that “to walk just as He walked.” Besides keeping those valuable words safe, pull them out and use them once in a while. Practice the very same things that Jesus did.
Often, in our world today, Christians get a bad rap as being pushy, or judgmental. People are put off when we come around spouting a litany of sins, and pointing out faults, reasons, and the logic of why Christ is the answer. There is a time for that, but it comes across as being negative. First show a passive, loving friendship, because you really should be concerned for that person, just as
God is. Let the action and the words come once there is a connection of friendship.
If people don’t know exactly what you are at first, they’ll know that something is different.
Be a gentle spirit, safeguard the morality taught by Jesus, and let God work before you jump in and share.