In my morning reading I came across a verse that really struck me, from 1 John 2:4-6:
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;
5but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in Him:
6the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
via 1 John 2 – Passage Lookup – New American Standard Bible – BibleGateway.com.
Verse 6 is what especially caught my attention. As a former charismatic, there was a lot of talk in my circles about “abiding in Christ”. In fact, a local “church” has had a sign up for months that says “abide and abound”. After reading the above passage, I can look back and realize that we had no idea what abiding in Him really meant. We thought it meant some sort of cozy experience where he blesses us, but this is not it at all. As John said, if we are abiding in Him we are walking as He did, humbly, loving all comers, doing ONLY the will of the Father, even unto death. This is not what I envisioned as a young Charismatic, but it makes a lot of sense in the here and now, having been freed from religion.
