Day 9 - The Filthy Crime Scene
1 John 2:28-29
Focal Verse(s): 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.
~ 1 John 2:28-29 (ESV)
In my thirty-plus years as a forensic death investigator, I’ve discovered there is something far more disturbing than a decomposing body or the putrid stench of blood…more nauseating than severed limbs or body fluids splashed everywhere.
I am, of course, talking about the state of houses in which many of these dead people reside. I have smelled things that would make your eyes water just by describing them to you. I’ve seen things that would make your flesh crawl. I’ve stepped over things that would draw you into a series of dry heaves just at their mention.
I’ve walked into houses filled with stacks of garbage and human waste that rose toward the ceiling like Corinthian columns holding up the Parthenon. Homes filled with hundreds of cats and dogs (a few that even housed chickens and raccoons) and the waste that comes with them scattered along the floor and simply covered with paper towels by the home’s owner. I’ve seen tubs blackened by grime and toilet seats blanketed with mold and mildew. Refrigerators that have long stopped working, yet still contain left overs from Thanksgiving two years earlier.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Merely a skimming of the state of houses common in not only my area, but also in yours (whether you’re aware of it or not). And I’m not describing these things to gross you out or for shock value, but rather to make a point…
No matter how reclusive we are…not matter how few guests we ever have come to our house…there will, eventually, be someone who comes and tours your home whether you want them to or not. Some day, we all will have these visitors (as long as we’re not in a hospital or other medical facility at the time). And this realization leaves me with cold sweats at night from time to time.
Why? I’m not afraid of dying or what comes after. However, I do have anxiety about the state of my house when that day finally comes. It’s kind of the residential equivalent to your mother telling you to always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident. I know it’s silly, but I really do think about this quite often. When I die, and whether it’s law enforcement or my family that comes to my house afterwards, how will they find it? Will it be clean? Will it be a mess? Will I have anything on premises that I, as a Christian/Teacher/Pastor, shouldn’t have? Will my legacy be tarnished? Will I shame my family name? Will I be mortified in the grave over my slovenliness? Over that days old pizza box with three slices left that sits on my kitchen counter instead of just throwing it away?
This, my friends, is what today’s two verses are all about. Preparedness. Preparedness for what’s known as the Parousia (Greek word (pronounced paru-SEE-ah) for ‘a coming’ or ‘an arrival’), which first and second century Christians would have known to mean not only Jesus Christ’s second coming, but rather the Bema Seat of Righteousness…that day in which Christians will stand before Christ and be judged and awarded for their righteousness in life. It’s not the Great White Throne Judgment, which is for sinners. It’s not a place of punishment at all, but rather rewards. But still, it is the place we’ll most want to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23). It is where crowns will be given to us as rewards…crowns we will return to Christ to glorify Him. The more crowns, the better…not that it’s a competition, mind you.
But there are two words, I really want us to focus on today.
Confidence
The first word is confidence. In verse 28, John tells us to ‘abide in Him’ so we can have confidence at His coming. Abide. Back in verse 2:27, John tells us God abides in us through His Holy Spirit. Now, he’s telling us that we, too, should abide in God. That word ‘abide’ means ‘to remain in’. Are we ‘remaining in God…in Christ?’ If we are, then there will be evidence of that through our righteousness (v. 29). If we live in a lifestyle of righteousness, that means we’re being sanctified through Christ continually. We’re evolving to be more and more like Christ on a daily basis. It doesn’t mean we don’t sin at all. It just means that if we’re abiding in Christ, then we can’t abide in Sin with a capital ‘S’ (i.e. a sinful lifestyle).
If we examine ourselves and can see a pattern of righteousness in our life…if we are closer to Christ today than we were a year ago…then we are in pretty good shape and can be confident when we appear before Christ at the Parousia (Arrival/Bema Seat) that our fellowship with Him is good.
Shame
If, however, we aren’t abiding in Him, we might find that our house is filthy when He returns. If that happens, John says we will most likely “shrink away” from Him out of shame. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not saved…although a continual lifestyle of unrepentant sin is a good indicator of being lost…but that we’re not abiding in Him. We’re out of fellowship with Him. And our lives have turned into a pig sty that brings shame to us in His presence.
Point is, John says if we are ‘born of Him’ we will practice righteousness. This doesn’t mean we do right all the time. It also doesn’t mean that people who aren’t born of him can’t live right. There’s a difference between ‘right behavior’ and ‘righteousness.’ The turn righteousness carries with it a connotation of being clean. Tidy. Presentable.
What about you? Are you confident in your abode today? Is there anything in your life that might cause you to shrink back when in Jesus’s presence? If so, I encourage you to take care of it today. Repent (recognize the wrong and turn the other way from it). And begin abiding in Him more and more each day.
Father God, help us to abide in you daily. Help us to live righteously and to live with confidence that on that great day we see your Son, we can stand boldly and joyfully over the lives we’ve led and the heart in which we’ve lived it.