There In It
1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He is revealed, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him in His coming.
It’s really such a natural response- when there has been direct and clear communication as to what is expected, along with very little adherence to it- there will be a major breakdown of self confidence. I know. That’s sort of a long statement, but we’ve all experienced its simple truth at various times in our lives. In fact, our adherence to what we’ve known is expected of us has probably had the greatest impact on our individual character and ability to confidently fulfill our God given potential. For some reason the failure to complete the smallest of instructions in the manner outlined is enough to totally disrupt a potentially rewarding and productive lifelong relationship.
It wasn’t that I had set out to be bad or anything. In fact, I really intended to do it exactly as I had been told. After all, it was just mowing the yard at the house and the church. No big deal. I would get to it just as soon as I finished this game of basketball. The problem wasn’t that my intentions were wrong, either, it’s just that Dad, right after telling me this, left for the next few days. I had it worked out well in my mind that I would definitely get to it soon, but ’soon’ kept getting pushed back as there was always something else that just couldn’t be passed up at the moment. Then, the last day before his return, it managed to rain all day, completely keeping me from doing what really should have been done right away on the day it was given. Although I would normally have been confidently looking forward to Dad’s return, somehow I felt more like hiding than running to jump into his arms. He was still the same Dad with all the fun times and loving embrace, it was just that my failures brought an expectancy of disappointment and punishment rather than the favor and rewards I greatly enjoyed and desired. I’m sure that if he had only stuck around, my motivation for completion of his order would have ensured its execution and the confidence in my relationship with Dad would have avoided the need for my punishment and the mending of the broken bond of confidence between us.
While it is so much easier to complete a project when the one who dictated it is visible, there is a strengthened and magnified confidence in a relationship when it is understood that one’s presence is very real and near as it is represented in their imparted will. When a child learns that mowing the yard, cleaning their room, or taking the trash out directly relates to their subsequent relationship with their parent, there is a sense that, though out of sight, Dad or Mom are very close and very near in the task they’ve given for completion. The child that makes the connection between obedience and the presence of their parent will develop a deep sense of right and wrong and the need for immediate and diligent response to what can only be right for them- obedience.
I worked once with someone who had committed to completing a project together with me. As long as we were working together, there was no problem with his participation and it was incredible how much progress we made towards our desired goal. I had some other things to do, though, on following days that we had scheduled to work, and, while I trusted that progress would continue as if I were there, very little if any advancement was made. While I’m sure there was some justification made on his part for not completing what I had asked, what could not be avoided was the lack of confidence we developed towards each other, just because he failed to sense my presence in the very thing I had asked of him. He could not boldly and proudly present himself to me having completely averted my expressed desire, and I could no longer have confidence in him or be motivated with favor towards him. If only he had seen that really I was right there with him in each of his decisions on what he would do, how much different our relationship might be today, and how much greater our accomplishments together?
Our relationship with and confidence towards God is much more greatly defined by what we do with what He’s said than how greatly we see or experience His tangible presence. How wonderful are those times when He takes us somewhere special where its just us together with Him- hanging out. But a greater depth in knowing God’s presence is when He is understood to reside in every part of His will that He’s communicated to us. By observing to do all that we’ve come to know, it is in the simple obedience to those things that His presence is embraced and our confidence towards Him enhanced. Our true identification as His children is made clear by how we sense that He is near in all we do and all we say.
1Jn 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness has been born of Him.
