photo: © Kati Molin – Fotolia.com
Do you ever move along through life and deep down, feel very lonely?
Yes, you have friends.
But at times, you just don’t feel very close to people?
I feel that way…at times!
It isn’t an always kind of thing.
I suspect the root of it has to do with being away from home
For large segments of time during my high school years.
But I also moved a lot during the very early years of my life.
After 3 stable years in New York State
We moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL
…when I was 7!
Where I lived from then on.
Closeness comes from feeling secure and settled in relationships. STOP
On one level, we may feel it
If we have parents, extended family and close friends who are nearby
Who we keep up with.
Who love us and know how to show it as we grow up.
But on another level
We need to know our relationship with GOD is secure and settled.
We need to know we are close with Him.
Are we His child?
Does He truly care for us…no matter what?
How do we know?
The book of I John is written for that very purpose.
It is written so we can know for sure that we are believers…or not!
Are we part of the family of GOD?
How do we know for sure?
There are 3 tests mentioned.
The moral test: Are we righteous/obedient to the commands of Christ?
The social test: Do we love others? (christians and non-christians)
The doctrinal test: Is our trust for salvation in Christ alone and do we believe that Jesus Christ is GOD, the second person of the Trinity?
As we allow the Holy Spirit to test us, we will become more securely grounded
In our trust in GOD and our relationship with Christ.
We won’t be perfect in this broken world.
But we will be growing in grace as we cooperate with GOD’s work in our lives.
Closeness will come as we abide in the Vine.
Are you secure (in a good way) in your relationship to GOD?
What will it take for you to believe the truth of your secure relationship with Him…if you are a child of GOD?
~~~ The near quotes re the tests above are found in The Epistles of John by James Montgomery Boice, 1979. It is a project I’m starting for the summer. Working my way through these epistles along with his help. I just read them and they were still in my head.
Some good thoughts from 1 John on what it means to be in close relationship with Christ and to abide in the vine. I think it’s interesting how you compare/contrast that with your own early years and not having stability. A great lead-in to talking about the stability that Christ brings into our lives!
Thanks!
thanks for stopping by sara:) thanks for your comments. i appreciate them. thanks
I’ve known the security of my families love in spite of typical upheavals. But I remember crying out for God. Wanting to know the unknown and the events that lead to my search. From day 1 a few questions but knew I’d never turn back. Solid as a rock. Love this post.
thanks lisha for stopping by with your good words:) the more i think about it, the more i think our closeness is an emotion intertwined with faith. we trust that they don’t mean the ugliness of the words they spoke to the degree we feel in the moment b/c of the fullness of our history with them. we realize they are flawed people like us so we can forgive them when they are unable to let us down occasionally.
we also find that we must find our fulfillment in our relationship w Christ and not them or their failures will be too crushing…b/c He is the only one who won’t let us down.
Hello dear Martha! coming from FMF and Fellowship Fridays! I love how with every verse you always add such context to it. The three tests are so helpful. And I think that as I contemplate my answers to them, it pulls me away from just thinking about my temporary feelings and brings me closer to God. Thanks for your post! See ya in the e-Retreat! This week, its ME who is a little behind 🙂
thanks for stopping julie:) yes, i finally got moving on a plan for my summer reading! my week has flown! i started on that assignment. not done yet. glad you’re running behind:) take time to relax this weekend…and do something fun w your girls!
Hi! Hopping over from FMF and enjoyed your post. Your thoughts traversed a pathway similar to mine, closeness to God and how I share my days with Him. Love the title Gritty Grace, because life is gritty, isn’t it, and without grace that grittiness just seems to stick to us!
nice to meet you sherrey:) thanks for stopping by. i see where we had some similar emphases. i know that experience from when we lived far away and our grands were very young. now we live near this one set of grands…for a year now. it’s quite a different story:)
Martha,
I love how you connect the experience of moving with seeking security in God. I always moved around throughout my life and each time I had to readjust and remember to find my security in God – He would always be there, even if I wasn’t in the same place.
Erika Marie
(via FMF)
welcome erika marie, thanks for stopping by. there is something about moving and the upheaval that comes with it that both upsets all your security and challenges the things you have put your trust in up to that point isn’t there?