1 John 2:18-29

Be still: Do your best for a while to set aside all those plans for the future, or memories of the past, and focus on just being in your present moment. Not easy – but remember that while God is present in all space and all time, you can only be here, you can only be now. Be present in the present!

Read: 1 John 2:18-29

‘As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us – eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in him.’ (v24-27)

Encounter: How many followers do you have? If you use social media, inevitably you end up ‘following’ various people, and in turn having others following you. It’s a good way of keeping up with friends, family, hobbies and interests. But meanwhile the algorithms of the big media companies are reading your interests and encouraging you to click through to more and more people, more and more areas. If someone can get enough views, they become ‘influencers’ who make money from sponsorship, product placement, or simply because their interesting stories (or silly stunts or outrageous statements) lead more and more people to click through to their posts.

What has this to do with today’s reading? John seems to be entering some really heavy territory, with his talk of ‘antichrists’ (or anti-messiahs). He seems to be describing people who have abandoned the faith, who now deny Jesus as Saviour, and who are drawing their followers away from the true Good News. Of course, there are still such cults today, distorting or telling lies about God and Jesus and splitting people away from the faith. As soon as we become aware of such cults, we know to stay well away! 

Apply: John’s necessary emphasis on such major dangers might lead us to think that by staying away from the ‘antichrists’ we are safe in our faith. But there are more subtle ways of being ‘led astray’. What the algorithms and the influencers are chasing after is the attention of their followers: looks, likes, clicks, or play next episode. The result? – distraction. To attend to one thing is to be distracted from another. John tells us to ‘see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you’. So, let's spend a little less time distracted by the clickbait and a little more with the only worthwhile ‘influencer’ – the Holy Spirit.

Devote: Lord, please help me to stop being ‘distracted from distraction by distraction’ (T.S.Eliot) and turn my focus fully onto You.