THE EVIDENCE OF A GOD FOCUSED LIFE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.

3 John 1:11 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How can you tell someone is really a man or woman is a child of the God Most High?

It’s a question that many people might have, whether they are a believer or not.

Thankfully, as in all other matters, we can always turn to the Word of God to find the answer and in the case of today’s question at hand, let’s look at the eleventh verse of John’s third letter. There he writes:

Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God. 3 John 1:11

Here we learn a simple test to identify godly people, those who know God either through His Word, the power of the Holy Spirit within, or the many ways He reveals Himself in creation. This test centers on the matter of good and evil.

If a believer in the Christian church does good, then they reveal themselves as a true child of God, one who is a co-heir to the very Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus, God’s one and only Son who is the Savior of the world (Romans 8:14-17).

God is good, all the time. We hear people say this all the time and there couldn’t be a truer assessment of His nature. There is no evil in God and therefore He is the epitome of perfect goodness. Thankfully, He doesn’t keep His goodness to Himself but rather is the great Giver of every good and perfect gift from above (James 1:17) and this includes giving goodness to His believers who in turn can extend that goodness to others.

Within the church where Gaius was a member, he served as an example of what John was talking about, following “only what” was “good” and, in doing so, he proved himself to John and his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that he was one of God’s children.

Conversely, Diotrephes, mentioned in verses 9 and 10, was the “bad influence” that John implored his readers to avoid. This is because his behavior was evil and showed that he did “not know God”, which in turn exposed him as not being a real child of God.

What is the evidence of a God focused life?

Ultimately, it’s the way a Christian believer lives, a life that reflects the very goodness of a Father God who has imparted goodness on His beloved children.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.