Dear friends, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
- 1 John 3:2
Jesus has taken away our sin (v. 5). He has done this in two ways. He has freed those of us who trust Him from sin's penalty. This is immediate. There is no penalty, no condemnation for those in Christ. At the same time, He is much more gradually, and equally lovingly freeing us from the power of sin. We are forgiven; we are saints who still sin. In Him, covered by His blood, we are not sinners who are trying to escape the clutches of sin. In Him we have escaped. We have been rescued. And we are being led on a life-long process of becoming like our Savior.
Because of this reality, we should love one another (v. 11). Love for others is evidence of our membership in God's family. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other (v. 14). This is God's command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us (v. 23). It is not complicated. Love God, follow Jesus, love His people.
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