My Little Children

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our’s but also for the sins of the whole world.” I John 2:1-2

When it comes to the elderly, America is unique amongst most countries. We seem to worship youth and only tolerate the aged. Even our churches tend to push aside those who have paved the way while catering to the ‘needs’ of the younger generation. I am always impressed when I visit countries where those with gray hair and wrinkles are revered. In most countries, youth is not trusted and age is valued. America seems to be one of the few countries where the Bible is not taken literally when it speaks of the glory and wisdom of those who are older. Maybe we are not so Biblically literate after all.

It’s easy for me to speculate that if John were living in our day, he would be seen as a relic, out of touch, and probably relegated to being a church usher. After all, who wants someone in his nineties leading the spiritual direction of a ‘cutting edge’ church? Yet, at the end of the first century John meant the world to the church. Everyone wanted to hear and read what this man had to say.

John was quite old when he penned this letter to the churches in Asia around 95 A.D. His tone of writing is that of a loving father, pastor, shepherd, and friend. Yes, as old as John was everyone seemed like ‘little children’ to him; and they respected him because he spoke the very truth of Jesus Christ. John was not just a person of notoriety; he was a man who walked as Jesus walked, a man of holiness, prayer, dedication, and service.

The phrase “my little children” is a term of endearment. It expresses his deep love and concern for those who were also following in the footsteps of Jesus. John will use this same phrase six more times in his letter as he admonishes those he loves. Letters were one of the most common ways to communicate with the multitudes and John knew that his ‘little children’ would read his words over and over again, mostly in public worship.

The words of John carried weight. In fact, the words of this apostle, along with the words of all the Bishops, were to be taken as if coming from Christ himself. One can easily find that teaching from the early church leaders like Ignatius, Polycarp, and Irenaeus. Those faithful would not debate about the meaning of John’s words, the sentence structure, or the context of his writing; they would just obey it. They knew that John understood better than anyone alive what the Son of God said and meant.

So, what urgent message, words of life, and wisdom of the ages did John want to communicate to those whom he loved? He urged them not to sin! Did not Jesus say the same thing so often when he said, “go and sin no more”? As John saw the dark clouds of persecution forming once again and as he heard all kinds of new heresies that were tickling people’s ears, his greatest concern was sin. Why was he so concerned about sin?

In our day, sin is permitted in the Christian community. Now we scoff at some sins that we might deem as abnormal but let’s face it, we are not so uncomfortable with sin. We have gossip, gluttony, pride, perversion, anger, adultery, fornication, foul mouths, rebellion, resentment, hatred, hording, indifference, and idolatry--just to name a few. In all of these sins no one gets too riled up about them, and a call for repentance and change is seldom. The early church was different, however, even though one could still find sinners in the church.

If you will take the time to read the history of the first few hundred years of Christianity, you will find that holiness, not sin, ruled the church. In fact, purity of life was one of the greatest tools for evangelism! Holiness is what drew thousands to Christ. Personal purity was expected of those who followed in the footsteps of Jesus the Savior.

Justin Martyr wrote in 150 A.D. “He [Christ] has not wished us to imitate the wicked, but rather by our patience and meekness to draw all men from shame and evil desires. This we can show in the case of many who were once on your [pagan] side but have turned from the ways of violence and tyranny, overcome by observing the consistent lives of their neighbors, noting the strange patience of their injured acquaintances, or experiencing the way they did business with them.”

The non-Christian physician Galen also wrote of the Christians during the same time, “…and further that they are led by modesty to shrink from carnal lusts; for there are among them men and women who have maintained unbroken chastity throughout their lives. There are even those who, by their self-discipline and self-control, and by their ardent desire for virtue, have advanced so far that they are not in any way inferior to the genuine philosophers.”

Holiness, purity, virtue, integrity, and piety--such were the marks of true believers. One can understand why John spoke about sin to his ‘little children’ and why we should model our lives after those early Christians and even more so, after Christ.

Blessings to you,

Dan

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries