CREAM OR SKIM?

 The old phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do,” sadly applies to how many live in ways that don't line up with the Bible. From the perspective of old-old age, the apostle John (believed to have lived to age 94), tackled this issue in his letter we know as “First John.” It is full of adoration for the God who is Light, Love, Righteous, and Life. But it also emphasizes that our “talk” and our “walk” should match. The 19^th Century evangelist D.L. Moody put it this way: “We talk cream and live skim milk.”

So, what does that look like? Dr. Henrietta C. Mears, under whose leadership the Sunday school program at Hollywood's First Presbyterian Church grew from 400 to 6,000, distilled from First John these seven tests for a fruitful life with Christ. (1)

1.      Walk in the Light. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him [the God of Light} and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth”  (1:6). Bugs under a rock scatter when that rock is lifted and sunlight reveals their hiding place. So it is when Christ reveals the worth of every thought, action, and word.

2.      Admit that you sin.  Those who ignore or gloss over their sins are short-sighted. Like rocks that keep appearing in a plowed field, sinful acts or inclinations are there below the surface, soon to be revealed. Ignoring our sin is self-deception (1:8). Confessing it—calling it what it is, sin-- brings it to the surface (1:9). God is faithful and just, willing to forgive (v. 9)

3.      Obey God's will. John said the person who claims to know God but doesn't keep His commandments is a liar (2:4). That's pretty strong language! A major litmus test is the first commandment, to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Compare, for example, the time and attention given to Bible study and prayer with that accorded entertainment and social contacts. (Today, that would include how we use the internet.)  Dr. Mears added this observation: “Many times we do not want God to talk to us. We will not listen to Him because we are afraid of His will for us.”

4.      Imitate Christ. John wrote (2:6) that “abiding in Christ” means doing what He would do. Some tourists use mirrors to study Michelangelo's ceiling art in Rome's Sistine Chapel. This saves them a “crick in the neck” from looking up all the time. In a similar way, we are to “reflect” the life of Jesus.

5.      Love others. Someone who says to another, “I hate you” doesn't have Christ's character (2:9).

6.      Guard against the world's temptations. These include (2:15): the “lust of the flesh” (physical gratification), “lust of the eyes” (riches and honor), and “pride of life” (focusing on being popular or important).

John's first letter has lots of "chew" power in it--things to mull over and reconsider. Or maybe I should say it's cream, thick and tasty, in leading us in living ways pleasing to God.

 (1) What the Bible is All About (Gospel Light/Regal,1953), pp. 635-640.