“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)
Whether we want to admit or not, our nation, our world is in the midst of major crisis of which the pandemic is just a part. What is of greater importance to the Kingdom of God is the shift in worldview. Most people no longer view the world through the lens of God’s Word. Instead, they view it based on their own thoughts and desires as well as media spin. They have set themselves up in the place of God so that now each determines good and evil. Naturally this will create violence and chaos since there are billions who reject God’s objective authority opting to do what is right in their own eyes. Conflict is the result.
These billions have rejected Jesus and they are reaping brutally calamitous consequences for their rejection. As the Apostle John states in his First Epistle, not every human being is a child of God. Only those who have faith in Christ as Savior and Lord are. This belief is incompatible with the relativism of our culture which proclaims the equality of all religions and the tolerance of all lifestyle choices no matter how bizarre or sinful. Our culture teaches, through the media, academia, and community, that everyone of every religion will go to whatever heaven they believe in. Hence these words of John are extremely offensive to many, even many Christians.
John also tells us that those who continue to live in and advocate for sinful lifestyles have no fellowship with God, even if they claim to be Christians. This would include many so called righteous people who boast about their good works and their love for others. The fact that they are boasting and/or seeking recognition or fame for what they do shows that they lack the humility of Christ. Often the only reason they do good deeds is to exalt self, to be liked and respected, and so no one will notice their “insignificant” faults and “minor” indiscretions. They think that even God won’t mind such flaws because their good so far outweighs their bad.
What John calls sin is not within their vocabulary because it smacks of Christian intolerance for the rights of all people to choose their own lifestyles. The lifestyle the Christian has chosen should bear witness to the truth of the gospel which will convict others of sin. The Christian should always act with love. Love does not ignore or whitewash sin but tells others that their sin and unbelief will lead them to hell. Love weeps for those who reject the grace of God in Christ Jesus who demonstrated the epitome of love by dying on the cross.