I John 2:1-29
2:1-2 The adoption of this philosophy into our lives and the absorption of it into our souls grants to us a mercy and a grace. When we are constantly working to be more patience and generous souls, we receive propitiation because it is understood that we a living with good-intention.
2:3-4 A hypocrite cannot hide. God and children of Him are observant and intuitive. A hypocrite cannot hide from themselves, either. A soul is discontent until it is truthful to itself.
2:5-6 Conversely, if we live with this faith in our every moment, thought, word and action, we may truly claim this faith as ours. We may do so because we have remained committed to representing all of its values; we do not just believe it, we also live it.
2:7 The New Testament does not change or negate the Old Testament. John writes to us just as the prophets before him wrote. This philosophy has never changed; in fact, the values, intentions and motivations of this faith have remained in place since even before humanity.
2:8 The New Testament supplements the old in that it presses us in urgency to awaken to our truth: our purpose and our potential. We are taught quite specifically to take responsibility for ourselves and also for the well-being of others. Our sojourning-lives are impactful and have the blessed opportunity right now to bring light to the world: wisdom, justice, hope, joy and love.
2:9 There is no way to partially commit to this lifestyle, this faithful philosophy. For within it we are taught to have appreciation for all of our neighbors (humanity), and therefore if we do not make the same effort on behalf of all people, we are not of this faith.
2:10 The soul who is generous, compassionate and patient with all people, is a contented but also purposeful and progressive soul. Such a soul has direction, motivation and opportunity to accomplish.
2:11 The natural truth of life here is that a greedy, violent, evil, selfish and/or vengeful soul never finds rest. Such traits disable a soul from realizing the natural truths and joys of life... and causes them to pursue further fruitless and debilitating gains. But the only thing this type of person gains is an ever-increasing discontentment.
2:12 John writes to us in order to encourage us, to establish our ability to create ourselves: to learn and grow, to discover and fulfill our purpose here. John, as apostles before him have done, explains to us that whatever it is we cannot forgive ourselves for or however we think we have fallen short, our slate is clean and all possibilities become well... possible (for the first time or all over again).
2:13 It is in complete faith and trust that John writes to us. Trust in God's existence and ability and more importantly, His love for us. John writes to us about having overcome "the wicked one" for he has experienced that strength against temptations and tribulations produces joy and the ability to persevere.
2:14 John writes to us because he has faith in our ability to learn and grow as he has because of this compassionate and instructive faith. In case you needed a reminder today, John impresses upon us that we are strong and that, if we allow it to, this faith lives in and with us throughout our lives.
2:15-16 We have spoken about the distinction between things of spirit and things of the world. The world teaches us that we require ruthlessness to succeed, arrogance and perhaps deceitfulness to accomplish. Spirit teaches us that success is in manifesting humility and gratitude, generosity and patience. The world teaches us that material wealth is the ultimate. Spirit teaches us that love is the ultimate. Whether consciously or not, we each decide which way of life to "love" to follow and commit to.
2:17 A reminder from John: one of the aforementioned ways of life is finite and the other is infinite. Our lives in the world are temporary; committing to the world renders our lives temporary.
2:18-19 We must always be vigilant. There are ideas, people and institutions around us working deceptively to manipulate our objectives in life. History has shown us that a single person with a convincing ideology (good or bad) can lead an entire fleet of people. We must be able to discern the authentic from the inauthentic. The selfishly motivated and unjust from the humble and just.
2:20-21 John writes to us because he knows that we understand. He knows that we are developing our faith and thus, our commitment to truth and justice. His writing is meant to secure our faith, to keep it from wavering amid the temptation of the world. When we become an authentic member of this faith, we gain access to all of its natural power and ability (for it becomes understood that we are working with creation to accomplish compassion for all life).
2:22-23 Think more broadly than the man because Messiah or not, Jesus is the manifestation of this philosophy. This philosophy is one of compassion, wisdom, truth and justice... to deny such things is to be evil. On small scales and large we are expected to exemplify those qualities and to refuse or neglect to do is to oppose the natural intention of life.
2:24-25 Therefore delve into truth: commit to the development of your soul through faith in compassion and justice, truth and joy. Truth is eternal, likely to most infinite concept we can grasp as humans. To become part of infinite truth is to become infinite.
2:26 John writes to us because he understands the nature of life on earth: it is abundant with opportunities, temptations and experiences which constantly require us to make decisions. John encourages to always make the right (righteous) decisions. We are taught that if we become inquisitive, observant and perception we will have complete control over our own minds and decisions; truth and authenticity will always be discernible to us.
2:27 This philosophy teaches us how to be strong and courageous, wise and compassionate... essentially, it becomes our armor, our motivation, and our guide. We become self-sufficient and independent in faith. It becomes our natural truth and source of eternal life.
2:28 Develop your soul and character to the point where you appreciate and respect yourself. To a point where you are confident in what your values, words, and behavior produces. When the culmination of this earth takes place, you want to be in a position of contentment: knowing you gave your best, most compassionate effort.
2:29 In practicing righteousness... in actually, tangibly, manifesting righteousness we claim our place as divinity's children. We cannot just say it or think it... we must be it. We must be this, this philosophy of life.
