We live in a world of insurance. I was first formally
introduced to the idea of insurance when I acquired my driver’s license from
the state of Kentucky. As one of the requirements to drive a car in Kentucky,
the driver must be insured. This means that every month, you send money to some
company (GEICO, AllState, Progressive, or in my case USAA) and in return for
the hundreds of dollars you send them, they send you back a little card that is
of great importance.
Insurance exists because assurance does not. I have
insurance on my car, because I don’t have the assurance that I will not wreck
my car. Because of this uncertainty, I am forced to pay monthly premiums to
guarantee that in the event of an accident everyone involved in the accident
will be reimbursed. I just don’t know, and I can’t know what the future holds
in regards to my car.
However, when we get to 1 John 5, John offers assurance to
us. There are many things in this life that are uncertain. There are many
things that we just don’t know and therefore we are forced to abide by the
insurance lifestyle. But John writes in verse 13, there is one thing that you
can know. He says, “these things have I written unto you…that ye may know that
ye have eternal life.” There may not be assurance in many things now, but
this one thing you could find assurance of – your eternal situation.
Furthermore, he says that the ones who have the assurance, are the ones who “believe on the name of
the Son of God.” Your assurance of your eternal situation starts with your
faith in Jesus. It comes through what He accomplished for you on the cross, and how
God’s grace extends because of Jesus through your faith. Beyond saving faith, John
points back to his explanation of the characteristics of the truly converted-
faith, love, and obedience. While many things in the future are uncertain, John
writes that this one thing need not be. We can rest, assured that Jesus has
accomplished for us what we could not. In a fluctuating, out-of-our-control,
anything-can-happen, insurance world, it is nice to have something that we can
count on.
Food for Thought: What does John say that we can “know”?
What does this mean?
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