“Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” 1 John 3:7-10.

What we practice reveals who and what we are. An athlete known for excellence in his/her sport achieved such through countless hours of repetitive practice. Their identity as an outstanding athlete is the product of their practice.

In the spiritual realm it is an absolute that we are what we practice. When Jesus said, “'You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), He was indicating that true character is the end result of habits and disciplines formed through practice. The sobering reality is that we are proven to be either a child of God or a child of the devil by that which we practice. John would have us not be deceived by thinking otherwise.

In light of these absolute truths, the key question is: what am I practicing? It can be said that character is determined by what we practice but, in another sense, character determines what we practice. Look again at John’s words: “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” While we are imperfect people of God who lapse into sinful missteps, it is impossible that we will habitually practice sin. It is as simple as an apple seed producing anything other than apples: seed determines fruit.

In applying these words from 1 John 3, we can ask the following: What do the practices of my life reveal about my true character? Are my life practices consistent with the “seed” within? If we are born again, we will have an inner desire to practice righteousness; it will not be a duty to be performed, but rather a joyful desire. We will gladly carve out time in our schedule for Bible reading, study, and meditation. We will eagerly approach God’s throne of grace in prayer. We will love others through benevolent acts.

John reminds us that we practice according to who and what we are, and what we practice reinforces that character. May these words direct our lifestyle as we seek to practice what pleases our heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus.

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