Life in the Son – Part I

Today’s Scripture: 1 John 5:1-11

Key Verse: 1 John 5:6a

And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by His baptism in water and His blood on the cross…

Our Key Verse reminds us that God revealed Jesus as His Son during Jesus’s baptism: “After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy.” (Matthew 3:17-17).

At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, God revealed to the world that Jesus was His Son. Can you imagine the impact this had on those who heard this voice from heaven with its declaration about Jesus? It is amazing how many still refused to believe and follow Jesus even after this dramatic announcement.

A second dramatic scene was Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection. But once again, so many refused to believe that Jesus was God’s Son even after He came back from the dead.

This reminds me of the parable that Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). In this parable, there was a rich man who had so much yet shared so little.

Lazarus was a beggar at the rich man’s gate, hoping for scraps from the rich man’s table. Both died at about the same time and entered their eternal afterlife. The rich man found himself in hell but could see the comforts of heaven and Lazarus in God’s arms. The rich man begged for a little water to touch his lips but was told no one could pass from heaven to hell. Finally, the rich man begged that heaven would send Lazarus back to earth to warn his family of the horrors of hell.

This rich man was convinced that if someone from the grave would speak to his family that they would listen. However, once again the voice from heaven said: “if they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31).

In Luke 16:31, Jesus was obviously referring to His own resurrection. As we all know, even after Jesus spent three days in the grave and came back to life, most people still reject Him and His message.

Have you proclaimed your faith in Jesus as God’s one and only Son? If so, you can rest in the fact that when you pass from this life, you will at once be in God’s heaven.

Father, I do believe in your Son, Jesus. Help me follow His teachings in my life. I praise you for the reward that is prepared for me. In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.