John's letter was unsparing in its denunciation of former members of his community. The letter accuses them of denying Christ. Apparently, they denied that He had come in the flesh. John's solution was simple: abide in Christ. To abide - live or dwell - means all the time, not just during worship services. Christ must be your place of refuge and your dwelling place. When we abide in Christ, we are not torn this way and that by what goes on around us or by the opinions of others.

John the Baptist got quite an interrogation. The delegation from Jerusalem really 'worked him over' in their attempts to find out who he really was. They wanted a label or a category for him for he made them all very uncomfortable with his preaching. John rapidly pushed away all the labels - he was not the messiah, not Elijah, and not the prophet. They pressed him again - just who was he then? His sole answer was a reference to the prophet Isaiah. He was a voice whose mission was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And that he did - he spent his entire life pointing to someone else. He was free of ego and pride - only God and his Messiah were important. Are we able to leave ego behind in the practice of our faith and in our dealings with others? Is Jesus Christ the centre of our lives?