EVERY BABY COMES into the world naked — that’s the way of things. Nobody thinks anything about it, least of all the baby. Even when they get to be toddlers, they may come out of the bathtub and gleefully and shamelessly run around the house in their birthday suit. Some parents simply accept this as normal childlike exuberance — which it is — and tolerate it, maybe even get a laugh or two.

But what if someone from outside the family is coming to visit and arriving any minute? Worse, what if there are already guests in the house? Suddenly the behavior may not be so cute. Worried about what others might think, parents may be anxious to rein in the child’s…um, “freedom of expression” and rush to get some pajamas on them. The parents try to teach their kids the rules of decorum: this is okay, but that is not.

And depending on how calmly or harshly the parents teach these lessons, the child may also begin to learn shame. The child picks up the tone of rejection in the parents’ words and behavior, and if that tone comes consistently, it shapes how they begin to see themselves: This or that is not okay begins to shade over into I am not okay, not valued, not loved.

It’s significant that the first description of shame in Scripture comes immediately after the Fall. Think of the pristine innocence of the first humans before sin entered the world: “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Gen 2:25, NIV). After all, why should they feel ashamed? Like newborn babies, they were just as God created them, in the state that God declared good.

But through their disobedience, they no longer saw each other or themselves in the same innocent way. They felt exposed; they felt the need to hide. They covered themselves with fig leaf underwear and dove behind a bush when they heard God coming.

FOR THE PRESENT, we live in a world that is still racked by sin and shame. But the apostle John looks toward the day when all of this will come to a head:

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28, NIV)

What the New International Version translates here as “continue” is the same verb we saw repeatedly last time: “remain” or “abide.” He has already encouraged them to hold onto the truth about Jesus that they already heard and believed — the truth confirmed to them by the Holy Spirit — and not to be swayed by the arguments of those who eventually left the community. To John, that’s part of what it means to abide in Jesus: the truth about Jesus must abide in his disciples, whatever lies they might encounter.

It’s because of the apostle John and the book of Revelation that we have our fullest description of what happens after Jesus returns. Presumably, he’s already taught some of this to the community, or else he wouldn’t be able to simply mention it here. (Wait, Jesus is coming back? John, what are you saying?)

His mention of Christ’s return fits the overall thrust of the chapter. The controversy and confusion over the beliefs and teachings of the secessionists may have left some people anxious about their eternal destiny, hence John’s reassurance in verse 25 that his readers have the promise of eternal life. And as he wrote in verse 18, it’s already the last hour, the last chapter of the story of God and God’s people before Jesus returns.

That doesn’t mean that he expects Jesus to come back a week from Thursday. Unlike some of us, he has no interest in foretelling and calculating the dates of future events. What he wants is for people to have an eschatological perspective, a perspective, in other words, that views and interprets the present in light of the promised future. At some point, Jesus is coming back, whether it’s next week or a thousand years from now. And we are to live today in a way that we would be unashamed to have him return tomorrow.

MUCH OF WHAT John was written up to this point has to do with sin. Chapter 1 suggests that the secessionists had some odd ideas in that regard, believing it was possible to be sinless. Indeed, it’s possible that they felt free to sin with their bodies as much as they pleased, because they didn’t count such behavior as sin. No doubt this was part of the controversy that split the community, and John puts the kibosh on the idea: everyone sins, and to teach otherwise is a lie.

Chapter 2 then opens with both a word of warning about sin and a word of encouragement: John is writing his letter so that people won’t sin, but also reminds them that Jesus is their heavenly advocate even when they do.

In that context, then, think about the picture John paints here in verse 28. The day is coming in which we will stand before Jesus, who will return as judge. All of ours sins and all of the things we’ve done in secret will be revealed. All the thoughts we nurtured in private will be laid bare. We will stand spiritually naked before the King of kings.

When that happens, will we be confident and unashamed?

We can be, but only if we abide in Jesus now.