Our Advocate

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one.

(1 John 2:1)

Meditation

The world offers us nothing but enticements to sin and fall short of the glory of God. Many who profess to be Christians with their lips, continually return to the same old sins they were guilty of before. Their first thoughts are to seek after wealth and power. The worldly pleasures found in drugs and alcohol, or sexual gratification, are their constant distractions. Even if we gain all the wealth the world has to offer, when we die, it’s all left behind. Few if anyone will even remember who we were two to three generations after we die. Every victory, every successful conquest, and every accomplishment will be forgotten when we’re gone. If we don’t really know the Father or his Son, everything this world has to offer won’t add up to a hill of beans.

All of the things we seek after in this life, all of the distractions we succumb to, are all the result of selfishness. Our selfish wants out-weigh our need for what God knows is best for us. In the process of chasing down those selfish wants, we sin, over and over. The love of anything in the world that takes our time and attention away from the ONE who saved us, is the first clue we do not have the love of the Father in us. If we seriously want to know the Father, we must become dedicated followers of his Son. Does that mean we must quit our jobs, not have romantic relationships, or never have any fun? Of course not, but in comparison to our love for God everything in this world is worthless.

The difference between a believer’s sins and the sins of the unsaved billions of the world is, believers have a Redeemer who stands between them and judgment. As believers we know Jesus is our advocate before the Father, defending us against the accusations of Satan. He loves us enough to have suffered and died just so we can live. He wants us to have a happy life, filled with meaningful relationships and fulfilling occupations. That doesn’t give a believer license to commit a sin every chance they get because they know they will be forgiven. It means, because they know the price that Jesus paid for their redemption, they want to always avoid willful sin. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, we should really follow him in every way.

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, you are righteous and true. You gave us your Son to be our example of living a righteous life. Thank you, Jesus, for shedding your blood to cleanse us of our sins. Thank you, Father, for forgiving our iniquities even when we come up short of your righteousness. When we humbly seek your forgiveness, we are always pardoned because our advocate, Jesus, defends us at your right side. Father, we want to always please you and do what is right in your sight. Help us to always be meekly pursuing the path you would have us walk instead of following our own will. You are the Lord of our lives and we want to go where your Holy Spirit leads us. We want to do what the Spirit tell us to do. We want to say the words the Spirit is whispering in our ears. However, because we are human, we will slip and fall, every day. When we do, help us to repent of our rebellion and drop to our knees and seek your mercy. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!