What we see, in the verses that I have just read to you, is that there are stages of growth in the Christian life, which John would have us to think about, in relation to our practical experience. And I believe that we should think of them as stages related to where we are in our maturity in living the Christian life. They indicate to us that there is progression in our faith related to our understanding of the truth and whether we have been living righteously in God’s sight. And in thinking about this progression we are led to that place where we can understand whether we are fulfilling the purpose for which we have been called by the Father. Our purpose is not simply to please ourselves. Our purpose in living our Christian life is that God might be honored and glorified, in and through us. The way that we think and live, speak and act, is all important to God. There are three stages of growth in our Christian life that John mentions in verses 12 to 14. They are “children”, “fathers”, and “young men.” We will only have time to look at the first two. And so, asking our Lord to help us, let us consider the first two titles given to us here, which relate to our Christian experience.
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Pastor Paul Rendall was born in November of 1951, and grew up in Davenport, Iowa. He went to college at Drake University and the University of Iowa where he received a B.A. degree in Social Work and History in 1974. Paul searched for truth in all the wrong places in college, but...
