Test the Spirits (10 of 14)
Series: 1 John
Robert Dawson
1 John 4:1-6
There's a story of a young American engineer who was sent to Ireland by his company. It was a two-year assignment. He had accepted it because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. She had a job near her home in Tennessee. Their plan was to put their money together and put a down payment on a house when he returned. They wrote often, but as the lonely weeks went by, the girlfriend began expressing doubts about his being true, exposed as he was to the beautiful Irish lasses.
The young engineer wrote back. He declared with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. ''I admit,'' he wrote, ''that sometimes I'm tempted. But I fight it. I'm keeping myself for you.'' In the next mail, the engineer received a package. It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica. ''I'm sending this to you,'' she wrote, ''so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls.''
The engineer replied, ''Thanks for the harmonica. I'm practicing on it every night and thinking of you.'' At the end of the two years, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters. He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl. Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, ''Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob. Before any serious kissin' and huggin' gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!'' (Bits and Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 17-18)
This young woman had developed a test so she could determine the truthfulness of what she was told. Love and faithfulness could be put to the test. It should be put to the test.
This is what John tells us in the first part of chapter 4. The believers to whom John had been writing were hearing a lot of different messages concerning Christ and the Christian life. He wanted desper ...
Series: 1 John
Robert Dawson
1 John 4:1-6
There's a story of a young American engineer who was sent to Ireland by his company. It was a two-year assignment. He had accepted it because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. She had a job near her home in Tennessee. Their plan was to put their money together and put a down payment on a house when he returned. They wrote often, but as the lonely weeks went by, the girlfriend began expressing doubts about his being true, exposed as he was to the beautiful Irish lasses.
The young engineer wrote back. He declared with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. ''I admit,'' he wrote, ''that sometimes I'm tempted. But I fight it. I'm keeping myself for you.'' In the next mail, the engineer received a package. It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica. ''I'm sending this to you,'' she wrote, ''so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls.''
The engineer replied, ''Thanks for the harmonica. I'm practicing on it every night and thinking of you.'' At the end of the two years, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters. He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl. Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, ''Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob. Before any serious kissin' and huggin' gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!'' (Bits and Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 17-18)
This young woman had developed a test so she could determine the truthfulness of what she was told. Love and faithfulness could be put to the test. It should be put to the test.
This is what John tells us in the first part of chapter 4. The believers to whom John had been writing were hearing a lot of different messages concerning Christ and the Christian life. He wanted desper ...
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