We want what can only come from God and God knows this so God comes to us. As John closes this letter/sermon he is writing to people who long for eternity but still need to live in today. This is place of tension we as individual Christians and the church need to navigate and wrestle with.  

Love is not usually something we say, it’s something we do. The purpose of God’s active love is to bring us back into communion with Him and His people. We have assurance of renewed communion with God through testing our hearts, lives, and spiritual teaching.  

If we are in Christ, we know we have new Father. However, we do not Abide in Christ solely as individuals. How does who we claim our Father to be impact how we engage with those who then would be our brothers and sisters in Christ? We are called to Abide in Brotherhood.

John addresses different Christians in the church community. Some who are young and some old in either age or in faith. After having written some hard words about genuine faith, he now wants to encourage the church and give them hope as they grow in their spiritual formation. 

Few of us are satisfied with who we are, all of us want to see positive changes in our lives. John knows we need and want assurance and clarity of our position of abiding in Christ. We’re not given false hope or blanket affirmation that feels good to hear but is empty. He also doesn’t tell us to rely on some emotional feeling or charismatic experience. He gives us a positive assertion of what a Christian is before He calls us to examine our lives in light of a series self reflecting reality checks.