| “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.” |
| —1 John 2:1a |
Here’s a conversation from many years ago:
“I think I’m going to buy a Betamax video recorder.”
“Why not a VHS?”
“Betamax by Sony has a higher resolution and a more rugged transport.”
“Yes, but it costs nearly twice as much as a VHS.”
“I know. But, you get what you pay for!”
“Well, you can do what you want. My advice is that it’s better not to.”
My very dated reference might be lost on many younger readers. When consumer-grade color video recorders and players were introduced in 1975, the Sony Betamax was followed in a few weeks by the VHS format units. The video format wars began. Eventually, VHS won out because it was an open format that did not require manufacturers to pay the high licensing fee that Sony required.
At the same time, you must understand that the Betamax was a significantly superior product. But, the lower cost of the VHS format won out in the end. Those who purchased Betamax units soon discovered that they could buy very little video content in that format. From a purely technical standpoint, Betamax should have come out on top. But, quality lost to price. My friend warned me. When I announced my decision, he told me that “…it’s better not to.”
The Apostle John wrote to new Christians in the same spirit as my dear friend. You can find John’s advice in 1 John 2:1:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Here John gives top flight advice. It’s better to avoid sinning. Now, we must remember that because we’re all stained by Adam’s sin and will retain that sin nature until we die and pass into eternal life, we literally cannot totally and absolutely avoid sinning. In fact, everyone sins every day.
But, we can determine to examine our lives and do our best to keep from sinning in those areas where we have obediently appropriated the fact that Christ conquered sin. Based on the person and work of Jesus, we can allow Christ’s power to enable us to gain control of our selfish wills and surrender those wills to the control of the Holy Spirit. That’s part of developing a healthy spiritual formation.
The really good news is the latter part of this verse. We have a Savior. He has paid the penalty for our sin. Out of love for Him and devotion to the Father, we should do our best to allow the power of Christ to vanquish our besetting sins.
As we begin a new day, let us heed the Apostle John’s advice. Let’s both do our best to allow the power of Christ to enable us to stop sinning and also celebrate the fact that we have a Savior, Lord, and King. Both of those activities are worthy of dearly loved children who belong to God through Christ.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, November 11, 2016
