I am writing to you, children,
I am writing to you, fathers,
I am writing to you, young men,
We might take from the first letter of John the fact that everyone needs and can benefit from encouragement. In the Scriptures we are often meant to receive truths that are new to us or to more deeply understand ones we have known in part. We often receive moral exhortations and commands that help us to guide our lives. But we see that John also found it important to offer encouragement. It was not the naive sort of encouragement based on promises about one's future life in this world. He did not promise that things would necessarily get better, at least not in the short-term. Rather, what he did was to remind his readers of who they were.
your sins have been forgiven for his name's sake.
you know him who is from the beginning.
you have conquered the Evil One.
you know the Father.
His readers, like all of us, were probably tempted to define themselves in different ways, often likely in terms of their own successes and failures. Many of them had not fully internalized the gift of Christianity into their own identity. We can easily sympathize with the ways in which their old identities caused them to think in terms of all of the ways in which they were limited, and all of the things that they could not do or be expected to achieve because of who they were. They probably often affirmed these identities with negative self talk that had the effect of becoming self-fulfilling prophecy. John was attempting to provide them with a new script for self talk that could replace that of their old pre-Christian selves. Once they heard from him that they had conquered the Evil One that might be more likely to repeat it to themselves when it seemed that the Evil One was pressing in against them. When they were in doubt about the future or the goodness of their being they could remind themselves that they knew the Father. When they weren't sure about the meaning of their lives they could remind themselves that they knew the Word who was from the beginning. When they felt condemned for their failures they could remind themselves that they had been forgiven.
Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
It is not possible to believe in a Christian self-definition or to profess Christian self-talk in a full way if we are at the same time proving we don't fully believe it by the way we love the world. If we act with undue attachment to things that are passing away our subconscious will reject the story that we are rooted in the eternal. That is why it is important to remember the truth about the things of this world and the truth about the things of God. The former are all passing away, but "whoever does the will of God remains forever".
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
Anna was someone who was fully convinced that her identity was rooted in God and his plan for her. She had already experienced how the things of this world are temporary when she became a widow. But she did not allow that loss to define her. Rather she more deeply embraced her place in God's story as a result. She focused on the fact that she was a daughter of the Father and learned all she could about the one who was from the beginning, such that she was able to recognize him and tell others about him when he came at last to the temple for his presentation. She spoke of him "to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem", because she was able to see in him that that redemption had finally begun.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
Jesus shares with us all that is his own, including his strength, wisdom, and favor. We are meant to be Christians, little Christs, those who have thrown off the old self and put on the new self redeemed in his image. This is why Saint John Paul the Great reminds us that, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus". No one can encourage others quite so persuasively as one who is himself rooted in Christ. That was the reason John Paul the Great was so convincing when he said simple things like "Do not be afraid". May we too be rooted in Christ and share that blessing within any who might need to hear it, including the many who know on some level but are often tempted to forget.
Graham Kendrick - For This Purpose
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