~1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Why would the believer be ashamed at Christ’s coming? John exhorts us to abide in Christ. When one abides, he is living with Christ, day-to-day, and walking with Him each step of the way. It stands to reason that the believer who does not abide in Christ, will “live” outside of Christ. He will fall into sin and find himself straying further and further from God and His will.

I don’t want to be ashamed when Christ comes for me. I came across a quote by Charles Spurgeon that was really poignant and made quite an impact on me.

The sins of disciples of Christ are a thousand times worse than the sins of unbelievers, because they sin against a gospel of love, a covenant of mercy, against a sweet experience and against precious promises.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Let’s commit ourselves to abiding in Christ as of this very moment. Let’s confess, repent and forsake the sinful path we’ve been on and move forward on a path that will not bring shame but joy! I once heard a message on “Going back to 12:00 – start over!”