Crunch. An innocent onomatopoeia- that carries a lot of weight. We enjoy the word when we are dealing with cereal but despise the word when we are driving a car. Anyone who has ever experienced even the slightest buckling of plastic and metal knows the sinking feeling of dread when your vehicle strikes another object. Whether it is your fault or not, few people want to inspect the damage after the smallest of fender benders.
Hopefully, you are adequately insured so that the sting of an accident is not as painful.
Insurance is a bizarre concept in our society. There are different types of insurance, and each category carries a different expectation if you ever use it.
Auto- probably, but hopefully not.
Health- absolutely, and optimistically, it will adequately defer significant costs.
Life- I certainly hope not.
Health- absolutely, and optimistically, it will adequately defer significant costs.
Life- I certainly hope not.
You can safeguard a vacation or event in case you can’t attend, accepting the randomness of life and how quickly it can change. Some people enter marriage with a form of insurance called a pre-nuptial agreement, hedging their assets in the event that their relationship doesn’t work out. Many businesses require a deposit to avoid losing money if a particular obligation is missed. The reality is that most people and transactions plan to fail. As we have seen, most people use an insurance policy knowing there will be a mishap and place a guarantee on that instance.
We do the same thing in our relationship with God. However, we know two main things: 1) God is Faithful and True (Psalms 33:4), and “blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7).
Many people see a passage like this and emphasize the promise of cleansing and use this as some eternal insurance; a proverbial “get-out-of-jail-free card,” knowing that when they mess up, there will be reparation for their slip. However, John does not write this to encourage a “license to sin.” Instead, the entire context is to persuade us to “walk in the light.”
1 John 1:5-8 “5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
An intriguing passage to consider: choosing to walk in the light carries the understanding that you must also be willing to admit to your failings. The first paradigm to consider is that the character of God measures the entire passage. God doesn’t simply dwell in the light; He is light. Therefore, to have true communion, walking with Him, we should attempt to remove all forms of darkness from our lives. However, we all know the difference between “trying” and trying. An easy earthly example is that some people try to lose weight but don’t change any habits, while others change their diet and activity levels to succeed in their goals. Some people “try” to walk in the light, and some people strive to walk in the light.
John will put it this way as he continues the same thought in the next chapter. Once again, this isn’t an insurance policy we want to use, but it is there when we need it.
1 John 2:1-6 – “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
John’s first statement holds the intention “so that you may not sin.” The desire is for us to abstain from the sinful world around us. We have a righteous Advocate who has paid the price, and therefore, we are empowered to walk in the light. The phrase bookends this thought: “ought… to walk as He walked.” We know that Jesus was sinless and perfect, a humanly impossible achievement; John previously mentioned that our first step in walking in the light is to admit that we have sinned (1 John 1:8).
Our attitudes and lives should be that we do not want to sin. We desire to walk in the light. We thank God that there is a payment for our past and future transgressions. However, our goal is not to indulge the passions of the flesh but to walk as Jesus walked. Just because it is difficult does not mean we shouldn’t Try.