John lays out a three step plan to win and claim victory over the world. It’s all about love and belief and rules. Yes, rules.
1 John 5: 1-5 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ×
References for 1 John 5:1
2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
We can handle the Rules
Your belief makes you born of God and if you’re born of God you have overcome the world. That’s a big deal right there. It must be because in the middle of the scripture it says that if we love God, we’re going to love his rules. I know you’re saying, “What?! Love rules? Can’t be!” but that’s the way it is. We can keep his rules because first off they’re not too heavy to carry and secondly if they do get to be too much sometimes we will overcome them because we’re born of God.
We’re born of God
What does it mean to be of God? I’ve heard of a cow made of butter, a house made of cards and a mountain made out of a molehill. Something tells me this is bigger than all that (still the butter cow is impressive). You see we all want to be part of something: a team, a family, a cool group, a band maybe if we can play lead guitar, but again, nothing compares to be being born of God.
Which is a big deal
Being a part of something that big, that important, that powerful, it’s no wonder it overcomes the world. Now I don’t think John’s talking about being a Titanic-esque “king of the world” here. What I think he’s saying is that if we’re a part of this, we’re not a part of “that” and “that” is how the world wants to control, measure and instruct us in our lives. No, being a part of this big thing means we play by God’s rules.
Because it locks up the Victory
See, it’s all wrapped up together in doing life the way God wants because we believe in Jesus as His son and we love him. If we do these three things, victory is assured, I mean it’s in the bag. As a simple person, I like that.
Something to think about
In your life would it be worth it to follow a few steps to ensure victory? What would it mean to you to know that for the rest of your life you could go everything and oh? Your won loss would look like this: Everything-0 or The World-0. How hard would it be?