“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”
1 John 4:15
A Two-Way Relationship
Sometimes it seems that we overcomplicate faith but here John is just saying that if anyone—all people—acknowledges (that's a confession) that Jesus is the Son of God, not that anyone else is but that Jesus is: God lives in them and they in God. This is a simple faith. It's not something that you need to study for your whole life—though you will! It's not something that you need to figure out on your own. It's already been figured out. Jesus is the Son of God and if anyone, the whole world, acknowledges that Jesus is that, God lives in them and they in God
And I think it's important also to note that God lives in them just as they do in God. This isn't a one-way relationship. It's two-way: God lives in us and we live in God. This is only available if we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, that we have that true confession that Jesus is who he says he is.
Stop Overcomplicating It
So how does this apply to our lives? Well we need to stop overcomplicating our faith. We need to stop thinking about our relationship with God in terms of what we can do for Him or what He can do for us. Instead we can start resting, knowing that God lives in us because we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. This looks like things like taking time off and spending time with friends and family instead of working all the time.
It really just means taking a simple approach to faith. It's not something to be acquired. It's not something to be sought after. It's not something to be chased. It's something to receive.
My encouragement to you today is to take what John is saying here and apply it to your lives by adopting a simpler faith, not one guided by the mind but one guided by the Spirit, one guided by the heart. Just accept Jesus as the Son of God and allow God to live in you as you live in God.
Prayer
Father, I thank you that we have a simple faith, that we don't have a faith that requires a PhD in theology to understand, but one that is easily accessible, easily shareable, and easily livable. Be with us today as we live out our simple faiths. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.