Kyle Bartholic 1 John 2:3-6 We’ve all been here recently; we have heard someone say one thing and then act in a different way. With the amount of cultural and political critique and conversations going on, this is an inescapable reality. And, honestly, all of the “evaluating” we’re doing is exhausting. It wears us out emotionally, mentally, and even physically. It can lead to fractured relationships or just a general sense of distrust. For those of us that claim to be Christians, we aren’t just misrepresenting ourselves or a political party; when we do this, we are tarnishing the name of Jesus. And as Christians, we don’t want that to be true of us because we want Jesus to be glorified. In our passage today, we are going to hear the words of John. He was writing to a group of Christians that were confused and honestly exhausted by feeling as if they weren’t living an authentic life with God. John is going to point them to the life and example of Jesus. Ultimately, we will see that an authentic relationship with God means that we are obedient to God’s commands. To claim that and then live otherwise is to lie to ourselves. It is like pretending to be something that we’re not, and the only person we’re fooling is ourselves. Everyone else can see through it. As we walk in obedience to God’s commands, God fills us with joy and a sense of complete contentment that leaves us feeling complete.” Authentically knowing God will be demonstrated through obedience to God’s commands, in which Jesus is the ultimate model.