Today’s Reading: 1 John 2:7-29
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment – to love one another – is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:7-8
GOD IS LIGHT
GOD IS HOLY
GOD IS LOVE
God’s message from generation to generation, from the Old Testament to the New, is consistent – we are to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. In fact, God teaches us that the best way for us to show our love for Him is by loving others. He does not let us get by with saying – I love you, God, but I don’t love _______.
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. – 1 John 2:9-11
Then why do we hear so often of quarrels and arguments in the church or within Christian families? Why do we hear that someone isn’t talking with someone else or that two people do not get along so they avoid each other? Why do we ignore scriptures such as John’s letter or the words of Jesus that say:
“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” – Matthew 5:23-24
Now, it is okay for us to hate sin (Jude 23) but we must do so in a way that we do not show hate toward the sinner. We can and should be appalled by the things that happen in the world around us, but hating the person involved does nothing to change the situation or bring that person to an understanding of God’s love for them. We may really hate the way someone has treated us or words they have used to wound us, but God’s commandment does not change – we must LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. – 1 John 3:15
GOD IS GRACE
Here’s the best part: God has equipped us for this commandment. He has given us a way to love people while hating sin, to love the world while hating the things of this world. Just as His love for us is expressed in His grace towards us, He equips us to extend grace to others through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
John went on to warn his readers about the false teaching that had made its way into the body of believers. He spoke of how the Holy Spirit equips us with the truth. When those around us try to introduce new ideas that contradict the authority of Jesus, we are to remain faithful to what we have been taught from the beginning (2:24). We are to remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father, standing courageously against those who want to lead us astray (2:26,28).
But you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true – it is not a lie. So, just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. – 1 John 2:27
In fellowship with Christ, sitting at His feet and listening to Him as I share my morning coffee time with Him☺ — What a great way to start my day. What a great way to survive my week! Lord, fill me with your Spirit and with your love! Reveal in me any hard feelings or hate I may have in my heart towards someone else. Show me any areas in which I need to make things right. Thank you for your fellowship and for the gift of your Spirit that helps us discern the truth. Give us ears to hear all that you want to hear, and a heart full of love that represents your love to this lost and dying world. Amen.