I remember it from school: an instructor would want students to get to know each other better. We’d pass out notecards and write down “two truths and a lie” about ourselves. Then, after reading our get-to-know-you facts, the other students would guess which one was the lie. The better we knew our friends, the more successful we would be!

Turn it on its head, and there’s a spiritual insight here: The better you know your God, the more spiritually healthy you will be.

The Apostle John does just that when he puts forward two truths to expose three lies in 1 John 1:5-2:2.

Some of the greatest narrative moments are arrivals. Han Solo says, “You’re all clear, kid.” Aslan storms the field with the White Witch’s prisoners quickened. Gandalf arrives at Helm’s Deep with the Rohirrim (or the men of Westfold, if you’re a purist). As portals fill the sky, the Avengers hear a voice say, “On your left.”

Arrivals like these bring change. The story turns with their appearing — and even more poignantly — they turn not simply on power, but power arrives on the wings of these relationships.