Often when you join an organization you learn its core values. Today these values are often expressed in a mission statement of some type. It might be a slogan or a catch phrase. It might be just three or four words, or it might be a long paragraph. But those few words are meant to guide the behavior of the employees and of the organization as a whole. It lets customers know what to expect and what not to expect. It serves as a simple way to keep the important things up front.
I’m lovin it. A diamond is forever. When you care enough to send the very best. Just do it. Eat fresh. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Buy it. Sell it. Love it. Don’t be evil. Each one of these, and many more, catch our attention and try to get us to purchase. And if we do, we are in some way supporting the slogan. We believe the advertising. We want what the advertising is supporting.
As John shares the Good News of the love of Christ to his readers, readers who have already accepted the Truth about Jesus, he reinforces that Truth. They know the Truth because they know Jesus. The message of the Gospel is not a teaching or a moral code. The message of the Gospel is a person: Jesus. And this is what the antichrists of John’s day had given up. They had lost their connection with Jesus.
John says that in contrast to those who left the Gospel, his readers were connected. They know this because of the anointing they have. It is Jesus doing the anointing. And this anointing lets us know that we are connected. We know we are connected by the love we show and experience, and by the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Now the character of the one anointing is Holy. This term tells us that he has supernatural power with moral behavior. The anointing we receive is not an impersonal power, a zap from the sky, a ‘beam me up’ moment. The God we serve demonstrates a power in us that changes the way we interact with each other and with Him. It changes the moral fiber of our being. It alters the course of our lives.
For John, and for us, there is no grey area in our spiritual life. We are either in the light or walking in darkness. We are either loving other fellow Jesus-followers, or we are rejecting them. In the language of Star Wars, we are turning to the dark side. It is amazing how universal the idea of dark and light are in our culture.
In contrast to antichrists, we know the truth. We know Jesus. But that isn’t enough. Some abstract knowledge of facts and figures or even the personal, intimate knowledge we have of Jesus isn’t enough. It must change our behavior. We must live it.
Maybe I need to start selling bumper stickers that say, “Just Live It!”
The Arnold Journey 