1 John 2:1-6: in context

John writes so that his readers will not sin, and then, knowing they will, offers a comfort: if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but the whole world's. Then John gives a test of genuine faith: we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Anyone who says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar. But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. Whoever claims to abide in him must walk as Jesus walked.

John holds together two things that are easy to pull apart. First, the comfort for the sinner: when we fail, we are not left condemned, because we have an advocate, Jesus, standing before the Father on our behalf, himself the sacrifice that covers our sin. That is meant to keep failure from driving us to despair; the answer to sin is not to hide but to remember the advocate. But John will not let that comfort become an excuse. In the very next breath he gives the test of whether we really know God: we keep his commandments. Not perfectly, John has just said we will sin, but as the settled direction of our lives; the person who claims to know God while cheerfully ignoring his commands is simply lying. Real knowledge of God shows itself in obedience, in walking as Jesus walked. So the two truths brace each other: when you sin, run to the advocate, do not despair; and do not use the advocate as cover for a life that does not actually follow him. Grace for failure and the call to obey are not enemies. The one who truly knows the forgiving God is the one whose life, however imperfectly, is bending toward his commands.

Do I run to the advocate when I fail rather than despairing, and does my life, however imperfectly, show that I know God by bending toward keeping his word and walking as Jesus walked?