Introduction:
Certainty is freeing. Think about the way uncertainty can take your mind captive if you are not careful. Anxiety can creep up when your future is uncertain and shaky. What if you are uncertain if you are loved? There is a certain type of bondage and weight that comes for a child who doesn’t know if their parents love them. They believe they are responsible to earn that love. However, compare that child to the one who is continually reaffirmed by their parents that they are loved and are proud. That certainty of love is freeing. Many believers are living like they must earn the love of Jesus, much like the first child. Jesus wants you to be certain about his love and about your future.
1 John 5:13-15
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
Think about it:
1 John is called the “love book.” It emphasizes God’s love for us over and over again, and then commands us to share that love to others. John says the whole purpose of 1 John is so “you may know that you have eternal life.” The disciple John, who walked with Jesus for years, wants you to know that you have eternal life when you believe in the name of Jesus. That is absolutely freeing! There are so many people who are living their life right now just hoping to be good enough, or that their good outweighs their evil to go to heaven. It is like the child who is trying to earn their parents’ love. We know our good will never outweigh our sin, it is only through Jesus alone we are saved, and we can be confident in our future through Jesus.
Take away:
You can be certain of your future through Jesus Christ.
Personal reflection:
Personal reflection: Do you still live in fear of your future or your relationship with Christ? If so, what are you fearful of?