April 25th, 2025: 1 John 5.20,21

1 John 5.20,21
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

One of Jesus’ missions in his ministry was to make his God known. Known in Hid judgments, heart, thoughts; not just known in name (the Jews already knew God in that respect). Through Jesus’ ministry and passion, he also opened the door for gentiles (non Jews) to be able to be accepted into the promised kingdom of God. This is how we now know God and are in Him and in Jesus. ‘This is the true God and eternal life.’ It is crucial that we know who are God is and what He has planned. This is why John ends his letter in such a peculiar (at least to today’s standards) way; a warning to be guarded from idols. If our eternal life is linked to knowing the true God and being known by Him, then if we don’t guard ourselves and accept an idol, we will lose our eternal life. So we have to ask ourselves daily, maybe even hourly, “Am I guarding myself from idols?” “Am I keeping the true living God alone in my heart or am I serving someone or something else?”