Beloved:
The way we may be sure that we know Jesus
is to keep his commandments.
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.
If we’re keeping His commandments, we’re doing what we’re supposed to. And, we may think we’re doing all right in that department. Then, we think about “Love your neighbor as yourself”, and we realize that there may be a few people, or groups of people, that we really don’t like very much. We might consider that hating our neighbor means that we may have failed to “walk just as He walked”.
To be sure that I know Jesus, I imagine a situation in which some person or group who’s done, or who’s about to do, something terrible can be removed from the face of the earth if I push a button.
Then, I’m not so sure.
So, I re-imagine the same situation, with one change. Rather than obliterating them, the push of the button will fill their minds with the Holy Wireless Connector and they will begin to love God and their neighbor. That’s a button that we can all push cheerfully.
We can also see that “walking as He walked” does require defense. In the passage that every leftist Christian loves to hate, Luke 22;36: He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” When His followers announced that they had two swords, He told them that was sufficient. And, when He was arrested by the Jerusalem establishment, St. Peter drew his sword and cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear.
So, if we imagine pushing the button, if only to remove those who force us to buy and use swords, are we “in union with Him”?
