That Ye May Know

A man has lived in his house for eleven years. The deed is folded in a drawer with his name on it, and he still hesitates to call the house his.

John builds this letter on one word: know. At the end he says plainly what the whole letter was for: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." Notice the words "know that ye have." They are in the present tense. Two verses earlier, John describes this life as something already given: "this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

Set that beside the end of John's Gospel, where he also states his purpose, and it is a different one: "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ." The Gospel was written to bring people to faith. The letter was written for people who already believe and cannot make themselves feel sure. John seems to have expected there to be many of them.

John does not settle the question with soothing words. He gives tests you can actually check. "Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." Both tests look outward, at how you live and whom you love. Neither one asks how sure you felt when you woke up this morning.

This week, work on the second test, since it is the one someone else could see. Think of the person in your church whose name makes you sigh a little inside, and do one real thing for them that costs you an evening. John never offers this as a way to earn eternal life, because God has already given it, and it is in His Son. Loving that person is one way of finding out that you have it.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year one reading for day 37 is Trouble (Psalm 50:15).

All 365 readings in Daily Manna, Year Two