Day 20 - The Rookie

Our Counselor provides the teaching—and the reminding—of what we need to know and remember. He is our comforter, our advisor, our encourager, and He gives us strength. He guides us in the way we should go.

A rookie is a novice. There have been a few notable rookies. The thing about being a rookie is that it’s encouraged for a rookie to have a mentor assigned to them—someone they can ask questions to and who will be there to remind them and encourage them. For Christians, that would be the Holy Spirit.

Take a few minutes to read 1 John 5:1-14.

John is laying down some real fundamentals here. He says in verses1-3a:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: To obey His commands.

Really very simply stated, if we love God, we love our brothers and sisters. The converse of that is this: If we don’t love our brothers and sisters, we don’t love God.

At the end of the passage he reaffirms that we as God’s children can know with unwavering confidence that we have eternal life. John anchors these fundamentals in the Spirit’s testimony: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in agreement concerning Jesus Christ. He says in verse 10: “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all in 100% agreement concerning our place in God’s family, and our value to Him and each other.

Here is the rookie check-up. Ask yourself: do I love my fellow Christians? Do I act and talk like I love them? Or do my words and actions and thoughts tear others down?

Even avid, experienced sailors do mental run-throughs of what they know they are supposed to do-especially when the seas are rough. They ask themselves if they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. If we, as children of God, keep seeking the guidance of the Spirit, we will take advantage of what is there for us to tap into.