Love's Protection

1 John 5:13-21

   "I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.  And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.  And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

   "If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.  All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

    "We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.  We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

    "And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

   "Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts."

When our kids were small we have a rule; when we walk through traffic, in a parking lot or on a street, the little ones have to hang onto a big person's hand. This is for their protection and our parental peace of mind. The problem is that a small child doesn't always realize there is any danger so sometimes they "forget" the cars. If they hold my hand I know to some extent I can do something about protecting them from the danger I do see.

When small children purposely remove themselves from adult protection, they encounter things they can't see coming. The follower of Christ, the object of God's love, is constantly under Satan's attack but may not be able to see it. One of Satan's attacks is to drag God’s people into sin. John said, "We know that those who have become part of God's family do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot get his hands on them." (1 John 5:18) 

If you can sin without conviction or consequence from God's hand then you are not His child (Hebrews 12:7-8 - "As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.")
 
Disobedience (sin) makes us vulnerable.  Jesus promises protection from Satan's attempts to hurt us while we “hold His hand”. Nothing can come into your life as a Christian unless God allows it.

We fail and fall when we shun the Lord's gracious hand of protection and instead walk into the traffic of sin. When we do that we allow the Devil an opportunity that God would have otherwise protected us from.

Start holding His hand.

~ The Circuit 'Riter, Michael Ullrich