Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way; all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
Pondering and meditating: To be a child of God means to avoid habitual sin. Yet that is only part of the picture, for to be a child of God means to perform what is right and good. And here is the astounding thing: avoiding wrong and doing right by themselves are empty, unless it is joined with love. What habit of wrong am I being called to surrender to God today? What habit of right is God prodding me to take up? And who is God especially calling me to love, today?
Prayer: It is easy to let myself be deceived. It is easy even to kid myself. Show me the lawlessness in my heart. Plant your seed of right and love in my spirit, and let it sprout and grow and bear fruit. Amen.
