Who knows us better than our best friends? John, his brother James and Peter had a front row seat to God’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. For three years, he walked with Jesus, watching him heal the sick and raise the dead. He heard his teachings, and those teachings transformed him from a Son of Thunder into the “beloved disciple.”
Like all of us, John needed to be forgiven. He once sought to incinerate a Samaritan village where the people rejected Jesus. “Shall we call down fire?” he and James asked. “No!” Jesus answered. In the presence of Jesus, we must come clean. We can rationalize our sins and even find people who will tell us that what we have done really isn’t all that bad. Someone might even convince us that we had no choice. “Maybe that is just who you are.”
John knew better. So do we, deep down. We could deny our sins, but that would be lying and calling God a liar. Or we could confess our sins and be forgiven and free. God has enough grace to forgive us and cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness. But we will never experience grace without repentance. We were all born to sin. But Christians are born again to live in holiness and obedience to God. Our very best Friend tells us so.
