Kendall the Fire

The bumping almost caused me to chip a tooth and the mud was flying. I had gotten off the road and was heading for the ditch. Fortunately, I didn’t overreact and I steered myself back onto the road with no significant harm done. This was all the result of something dumb that I had done… I had diverted my attention to some papers that had fallen onto the floor and not only had I taken my eyes off the road, when I reached for the papers, I temporarily lost my grip on the steering wheel. Not my finest moment, right? Interestingly, the chain of events probably would not have spiraled downward in the wrong direction but for another problem. The front-end of my car was not properly aligned, so when I let go of the wheel, the car began to make its way off the road. Before I knew it, I was on the shoulder and quickly moving in the direction of a crash.

Did you know that we can get misaligned in our spiritual lives, too?  You probably did. It’s not that hard. Wrong priorities, selfish pursuits, bad habits, and even just a failure to pay good attention can quickly get us off track and headed for a spiritual ditch. Thankfully, the writer of the Epistle of 1 John also knew it, so he gave us some pointers in chapter 2.  If I were put a title to the chapter, it would be “Staying in Step with Christ Jesus,” and that seems to be the theme.  The very famous verse is verse 6, “the one who says he abides in Him (Christ Jesus) ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (NASB).

There is only one sure way of walking in the same manner as he walked, and that is to be aligned with Him. In the same way a misaligned vehicle will lead you into a ditch, to be spiritually misaligned will cause you to make a wreck of your life. Have you ever watched, or participated in a “three-legged race?” That is one of those races where you tie your left leg to the right leg of a partner and then try to run. The only way you will ever make any meaningful progress is to become in sync with your partner.  If you try too hard to pick up the pace on your own, you will become out of sync with your partner and probably wind up on the ground… funny for others to watch, but less fun to experience.  The results for us spiritually when we get out of sync with the Lord can be much more serious.

So, how can we remain in alignment and in sync with the Lord Jesus Christ? John tells us we must align our morals with the Lord, and not with the world. In verses 3 and 4 of 1 John chapter 2 we read: “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep his commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,” and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”  Okay… that makes sense, how do we know his commandments (or his will in any circumstance)? Verse 5 says, “who ever keeps his word.”  

That seems pretty straightforward. We read and study his Word, the Bible—specifically the parts that describe for us the activities of Jesus—and then apply it to our lives and thus, remain aligned with Him. Easier said than done, right?

Sometimes the key that unlocks the mystery is hidden in plain sight. In this case, the key to obedience is love. Yeah, love. In verse 15 of this same chapter, John contrasts the love of this world with the love of the Father. Verse 16 says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” So I guess we just have to really consider what we love the most, because that will inform us as to whether we will be living for the kingdom of light or darkness… for the King Jesus or for the ruler of this world, the devil. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared and asked the disciple Peter, “do you love me more than these?” He probably is asking the same question of me when he sees the things I devote my time to.

It comes down to this… what (or who) do you love the most?  Are you in the Word to be able to translate what you are learning into obedience? And, are you aligned—walking in step—with Christ Jesus?  If not, maybe it’s time to pull back onto the road.