1John 2:3-4
2:3. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
2:4. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
–NKJ
Is your faith real? Do you say one thing and end up doing another? To paraphrase Paul, ” the evil things I don’t want to do is what I end up doing, and the good things I want to do never seem to get done.” It can be difficult to do the right things, loving others, showing tolerance, and lovingkindness to those who need it. The best of Christians fall short.
In the phrase, “we know that we know Him,” it could be more accurately read as, “we know that we are knowing him,” To know him is an ongoing experience. One that can be lived out each new day. Knowing him isn’t a matter of whipping out an old book, and reading about history, and learning about a small event that happened centuries ago. The things that Jesus taught are so basic to humans that they are still relevant today, and will continue to be in centuries to come.
So what is the proof of our belief? What is the demonstration that we are continuously knowing and experiencing him? When “we keep His commandments.”
His commandments are the things he taught, and are recorded in the Gospel, but even all through the scripture. It’s good to actually do what his commandments and teachings say, but that isn’t the exact meaning of the word ‘keep’. It comes from a word that literally means to safeguard.
If you had something valuable in your possession, what would you do with it? A diamond necklace? Wear it. A Rolls Royce? Drive it. As much as you might like to, you probably wouldn’t use those things on a daily basis. The shine would wear off, wear and tear by normal use requires extra maintenance. During the times your valuable item is not in use you safeguard it. You keep it locked securely in a safe, or in a secure garage. During the times when you fail to use those valuables, you keep them safe.
During many of our daily chores of life, we may not see the connection to the thing we do to a Christian teaching. Maybe there isn’t any. Still even when our behavior and conversation doesn’t demand the need for us to whip out our acts that imitate Jesus, keep them safe, and close at hand. Don’t let the voices of society creep in and try to make those valuables out to be less than what they are. Safeguard the teachings of Jesus and don’t let people try to devalue them, or say they are irrelevant, or useless.
If you are a Christian, then you’ve got the goods. Use them if you have them. Keep them safe and uncompromised when you’re not.