1 John 2:18-19
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
‘The antichrist is coming …many antichrists have come.’
So often we think about big temptations or big crises as being where our faith is tested or proved. I wonder if this thought is behind John’s warning. Are the people he’s writing about so focused on The Antichrist that they are overlooking the everyday challenges to their faith, the small challenges or chances to prove themselves in their daily obedience, brought about by the ‘many antichrists’. Could it actually be that proving ourselves faithful to Jesus in the many many small things has a much bigger impact than we give it credit for?
Father, help me prove myself today in the little things, when I’m bored at work, tempted to laugh at a bit of gossip, when I’m tired and irritable. Spirit, help me resist all things that may seek to distract me from following Jesus’ example.
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