Pardon me if I repeat myself again.
1 John 2:12-14 "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
I am always fascinated by repetition in the Bible. God knows His children well. Not only do we require repeat lessons, but we like motifs. We like refrains. It's like the chorus in a song, we keep coming back to things. It is the cyclical nature of our beings that we come back again to the beginning.
And so I was arrested by these verses the other day. I dwelt on them rolled them around in thought and meditative prayer. And after peeling back a few layers this is what I saw. Children. Fathers. Young men.
And then again...Children. Fathers and Young men. I see here a twofold lesson. The first places a lens over the promise of how we are changed from glory to glory. The second tells a little about the uniqueness of growing up in God.
John is writing to the budding churches of Asia Minor. First he calls them children and reminds them that they are saved by the name of Christ. And this is true, for as Jesus said, we cannot enter the kingdoms unless we become as little children. And so John acknowledges their childlike faith in Jesus and salvation it has gained them.
Next he calls them fathers and reminds them that they know Him who is from the beginning. Now he uses the exact same words the second time but I believe this first time John is talking about a "head" knowledge of God. They know about Him. They know the law and all the stories. They get the mechanism of salvation. But I don't think it goes much farther yet because of what he says next.
After this he then calls them young men and calls out that they have overcome evil. Now by itself that sounds pretty good. But is it good enough? Repetition will tell us. And John does appear to repeat himself... only not exactly. The keys are in the differences of these déjà vu verses as well as in their similarities.
The second time he calls them children he moves beyond their initial salvation and tells them that they now know the Father. This is not just head knowledge, this is family. A trusting knowledge. A child whose face is looking to only one source for answers. Dad!
Now he calls them fathers a second time. This again is the deeper wisdom gained after spending time with God. The child has become like his Father. As we trust and obey as children, we become like the one we follow. The boy becomes the man his father was, more so if he loves that father. We become Holy as He is Holy. And so we Know Him in a new, deeper more mature way. Heart knowledge. The knowledge of being. The wisdom that comes from stillness and abiding in God Himself.
And then John calls them again young men. And once more he declares their victory over evil, ah but this time there is something different. You are strong, and the word of God abides in you. This time victory comes from the strength of the word of God alive inside them. The first time they were filled with the newness of salvation and head knowledge of God. They overcame evil, yes. But it was largely by the momentum of youth and new conversion. It was done by their own effort. Laudable, for sure, but nothing that could withstand the fire. But this time is different . This time they have spent time as little children getting to know the Father, taking in His words, growing up on them. This time they have been weak vulnerable children. This time they have been frail old men bowed down before the awesome power of the Mighty God. This time they have been emptied of self and filled utterly with Him. So that when they step once more on to the battlefield as young men, The Lord calls them strong for He has filled their weakness with Himself. They are filled with His word and so the victory is total and complete.
This cycle of course repeats as we grow deeper. From glory to glory. But it is wonderful to note how different growing up in God is from growing up in normal life. In life we start out as children, grow to adulthood work and scrape and then grow old and die. But with God we start out as new born - born again - children innocent and trusting. We grow into a place of wisdom and maturity. We marinate if you will, in His presence and then we get a sort of spiritual second wind. A renewed youth. We become warriors. Fighters against evil. Conquerors. And this repeats through out our lives. As the warrior recovers from battle, God draws us tenderly back to that childlike place of comfort. Healing our wounds, forgiving our failures, teaching us new secrets of life, love and the eternal battle for both. He matures us into creatures far wiser than we once were. Calms us, quiets us, steadies our thoughts so that we grow wizened by His grace. And then when the war cry sounds, He fires us up and we follow Him into battle, thirsty for victory, wielding His word like a fiery sword. We in a sense are constantly being recreated within our present physical form in to a new spiritual creation in Christ by stages. Until at last we meet Him face to face. And then we live forever.
Which is a whole lot better than the "be born, grow up, work, grow old and die" scenario.
I am always fascinated by repetition in the Bible. God knows His children well. Not only do we require repeat lessons, but we like motifs. We like refrains. It's like the chorus in a song, we keep coming back to things. It is the cyclical nature of our beings that we come back again to the beginning.
And so I was arrested by these verses the other day. I dwelt on them rolled them around in thought and meditative prayer. And after peeling back a few layers this is what I saw. Children. Fathers. Young men.
And then again...Children. Fathers and Young men. I see here a twofold lesson. The first places a lens over the promise of how we are changed from glory to glory. The second tells a little about the uniqueness of growing up in God.
John is writing to the budding churches of Asia Minor. First he calls them children and reminds them that they are saved by the name of Christ. And this is true, for as Jesus said, we cannot enter the kingdoms unless we become as little children. And so John acknowledges their childlike faith in Jesus and salvation it has gained them.
Next he calls them fathers and reminds them that they know Him who is from the beginning. Now he uses the exact same words the second time but I believe this first time John is talking about a "head" knowledge of God. They know about Him. They know the law and all the stories. They get the mechanism of salvation. But I don't think it goes much farther yet because of what he says next.
After this he then calls them young men and calls out that they have overcome evil. Now by itself that sounds pretty good. But is it good enough? Repetition will tell us. And John does appear to repeat himself... only not exactly. The keys are in the differences of these déjà vu verses as well as in their similarities.
The second time he calls them children he moves beyond their initial salvation and tells them that they now know the Father. This is not just head knowledge, this is family. A trusting knowledge. A child whose face is looking to only one source for answers. Dad!
Now he calls them fathers a second time. This again is the deeper wisdom gained after spending time with God. The child has become like his Father. As we trust and obey as children, we become like the one we follow. The boy becomes the man his father was, more so if he loves that father. We become Holy as He is Holy. And so we Know Him in a new, deeper more mature way. Heart knowledge. The knowledge of being. The wisdom that comes from stillness and abiding in God Himself.
And then John calls them again young men. And once more he declares their victory over evil, ah but this time there is something different. You are strong, and the word of God abides in you. This time victory comes from the strength of the word of God alive inside them. The first time they were filled with the newness of salvation and head knowledge of God. They overcame evil, yes. But it was largely by the momentum of youth and new conversion. It was done by their own effort. Laudable, for sure, but nothing that could withstand the fire. But this time is different . This time they have spent time as little children getting to know the Father, taking in His words, growing up on them. This time they have been weak vulnerable children. This time they have been frail old men bowed down before the awesome power of the Mighty God. This time they have been emptied of self and filled utterly with Him. So that when they step once more on to the battlefield as young men, The Lord calls them strong for He has filled their weakness with Himself. They are filled with His word and so the victory is total and complete.
This cycle of course repeats as we grow deeper. From glory to glory. But it is wonderful to note how different growing up in God is from growing up in normal life. In life we start out as children, grow to adulthood work and scrape and then grow old and die. But with God we start out as new born - born again - children innocent and trusting. We grow into a place of wisdom and maturity. We marinate if you will, in His presence and then we get a sort of spiritual second wind. A renewed youth. We become warriors. Fighters against evil. Conquerors. And this repeats through out our lives. As the warrior recovers from battle, God draws us tenderly back to that childlike place of comfort. Healing our wounds, forgiving our failures, teaching us new secrets of life, love and the eternal battle for both. He matures us into creatures far wiser than we once were. Calms us, quiets us, steadies our thoughts so that we grow wizened by His grace. And then when the war cry sounds, He fires us up and we follow Him into battle, thirsty for victory, wielding His word like a fiery sword. We in a sense are constantly being recreated within our present physical form in to a new spiritual creation in Christ by stages. Until at last we meet Him face to face. And then we live forever.
Which is a whole lot better than the "be born, grow up, work, grow old and die" scenario.
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