Knowing

For project, we're doing an inductive study of 1 John. For those of you who don't know, an inductive study is where you take a book of the bible and study every sentence of it, testing the diction, syntax, context and weight of each word and idea.

Thus far, 1 John, for me, is about confidence. Confidence in the person of Christ. John, an apostle of Christ, has real, objective proof of Jesus. He saw Him and lived with Him for the years that Jesus was teaching. John speaks objectively of what he saw when he begins his epistle.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)

So often we think of the subjective feelings we get as evidence for Christ in our lives. When the worship, prayer and sermon work together in such a way, we get butterflies, goosebumps, a feeling of excitement and fulfillment. We take this subjective feeling and try to turn it into objective truth. What John is saying in this passage is that we don't have to rely on subjectivity. We can believe in and have confidence in a true Christ, who he saw with his eyes and touched with his hands.

It's with this confidence that I have learned to embark on the city of Nantes each day, proclaiming objective truth and the promise of life in Christ.