1 John 5:1-6 (NRSV)
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Chapter 5Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. Verse 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. Verse 3For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, Verse 4for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Verse 5Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Verse 6This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
Devotion
St. John helps us to understand how relationships are cemented with one another to bring forth the desired fruit. He writes of the believer who is a child of God, one who loves the parent who is God and subsequently all of God’s children. For the believer centers her or his love in caring not for oneself but only for the other, the object of one’s love. This is an extraordinary challenge for us; for this love drives us to meet the needs of others in deference to meeting our own needs first. It is a part of the mandate which Jesus imparts to his disciples: “This I command you to love one another.” And in doing so St. John writes that we shall overcome the world. We might interpret this as a signal that the Kingdom of God has broken into our existence and that his will is being done among us. Isn’t this why we have been created?
Prayer
Let your Spirit capture us anew, Lord, so that the task of carrying out the command of the Christ might be accomplished in our time and in this place. Amen.