John proposes a better solution: pray.
Recall the words of James. When we find sin in ourselves, we are not to boast about it; not to deny it. John says that when we become aware of sin in others, our response must not be to ignore it (burying the head in the sand), to savor it like some delicious food (pondering), or sit ourselves down in a plane above it (judging).
John says, “pray.” Why? For one thing, God can handle it better than you or I. “Vengeance is mine to give,” says the Lord. So is life. Attempts we make at cleaning up the lives of others will far more frequently result in our own fall. Have you heard what Paul said in Galatians 6?
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1–ESV)
Near the end of the original Star Wars movie, we see Luke Skywalker piloting his X-wing starfighter along a Death Star trench. As Darth Vader chased Luke, Vader stamped our culture with his words: “The force is strong with this one.”
The very same concept intwines the corridors and cabinets of our lives. Sin is a force strong with each of us, and the more real Darth Vaders of self and Satan chase us along those halls.
So, I will write it again. John says, “pray.” In reality, he says a thing more specific than pray: Ask. John tells his readers to ask God to give the sinning Christian life. See, sin is tantamount to death. Sinful behaviors pretend to give us good things while secretly wiping them away. The very best approach we can give to God, to others and even ourselves is to ask God to repair, heal, turn back those steps and places we see our eternal companions treading.
Bad into good
Recognize what type of approach is happening here. Our own ill tendencies get redeemed into excellence. Those arrows of sin that we risk shooting into fellow Christians are turned aside. John’s words guide us to redirect a practice so normal to us into a thing so helpful for all.
That is the way God does things. He turns evil into good. A verse in the book of Proverbs says that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. He directs it like a watercourse wherever he will. The circumstances of our lives are very similar to this. As we become more firm in our faith we gain a similar vantage point. Can we bring our tendencies to God and ask him to help us redirect them? “Please help.” That is a prayer God always answers in the affirmative.
The words of Joseph in Genesis 50 came to mind. In that closing chapter Jacob has just died, and Joseph’s guilty brothers succumbed to doubt. “Now Joseph will get us,” they said and sent an envoy with an apology. Joseph’s reply showed that God’s stamp was on his life. “Don’t worry about it. What you intended for evil God intended for good.” So we do well to follow the example of Joseph and the words of John. Both of these are world-redeeming. They are the word and the life.
God naturally evacuates the bad air which rises off of our attempts at sin management. Left behind is just the personal improvements that we and others need; the fix of God.
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