I John 2:4 “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he says is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
My dear husband is a very important man. He regularly receives phone calls from the president of the United State. These calls are made to check whether or not our children have cleaned their rooms and eaten their broccoli and a number of other assorted inquiries. Mark takes these calls in front of our children, saying loudly, “Oh, hello, Mr. President. Yes, yes, they are right here. No, they haven’t eaten all their vegetables. Oh, you don’t say! There is a new law stating that children are required to eat all of their vegetables, or they’re not allowed to ride their bicycles? I’ll make sure they understand.”
Of course, our children giggle. They know their daddy isn’t telling the truth about his relationship with the president. He’s only teasing. He doesn’t know the president personally, though he has fun claiming they are good friends.
Have you ever noticed how many people claim to be Christians? And yet, how few actually live by the Word of God? Sometimes, we claim to know Him, but have no desire to live for Him. John tells us here that if we do not obey Him, we don’t know Him. If we claim to know Him, but don’t obey Him, we are liars.
Oh, it may not be an intentional lie. I think some of us are just confused about what it means to know God. But as we obey Him, we understand Him better. And the better we understand Him, the easier it is to obey Him. So, if we want to know Him better, but we’re not sure how, obedience is a great place to begin.
Dear Father, I don’t want to lie about my relationship with You. I sincerely want to obey You, to please You. Thank You for helping me do that.
Amen
Delightful illustration!
I hope all is well with your family, Renae.
Blessings,
Jean
Thanks, Jean. My family is well – thanks for asking. I appreciate your continued prayers for my dad.
Have a blessed day!
Hi Renae,
You know that I receive your blog through bloglines so I am not always here in person to comment. But every now and then I like to drop in and leave a note. This is a very good post. An apt illustration brings an important truth to life! I am at a ladies’ conference this weekend and I am planning to use this. I hope you don’t mind! How’s that for an impertinent way of asking permission?!
Of course you have permission – impertinent or not! 😉 I’m honored.