Short thought this morning. Something out of 1 John. Not overly complicated but a source of great confidence. A to do which, John says, will have a directly connect “to be.” A purposeful pursuit which will have a practical payout. I think, if I’m picking up what John’s laying down, when we abide we’ll obey.

And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.

(1John 2:28-29 ESV)

Seems there were forces at play trying to destabilize the believers John was writing to (2:26). What a surprise. Not. Plethora are the ways the enemy can deploy to try and get us off our game. To distract us from the prize. To confuse us as to our purpose. To deflect us from the power.

But we have an anointing (2:27). An anointing we’ve received from Jesus. An anointing that abides in us. An anointing that is true and can keep us straight. An anointing from Him through which we can abide in Him.

And if abide in Him, we’ll walk like Him. Not in perfection, but in persistent purpose, palpable power, and perceptible practice.

If He abides in us through the anointing, and we abide in Him through the anointing, then if He is righteous (and He is), then we’ll be marked as those who practice righteousness. We’ll walk as He walked because our walk will be sourced fully in remaining in Him and not in reliance upon our best efforts at remaking ourselves. To tarry with Jesus will result in taking on Jesus. To remain in Him will be to have Him reflected through us. Our abiding will result in our obeying as His indwelling has it’s outworking.

Simple. But not a gimme. Foundational. So worth pursuing.

If trust and obey is the what of following Christ, I’m thinking that abide and obey is the how.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.