Child of the Devil
What makes us good?
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 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. - 1 John 3:1-10
We learn that everything we do and all that we are come from our choices.
We choose to be and act a certain way, and in that choice is the seed of sin.
John tells us, though, that we only need to make one choice to free ourselves from the sinful choices we are exposed to, and that one choice is to choose Jesus.
When we choose to become children of God instead of remaining children of the devil, which is what we are in this life by default, we cancel out all of the opportunities to fall back.
God takes us in as his own, and the devil be damned, so to speak.
So, this is super good news for us, because it means we don't have to do all the hard work we would have to do if we attempted to fight the devil without Jesus' help.
It also answers the question that plagues most Christians regarding salvation for those who don't believe in Christ.
If one manages to be saved without Jesus, it has to be a lot harder than if one just believes, because the devil is always present to knock down those who are alone and unsupported.
Jesus is here for all of us. All we need to do is call on him.
More to come...