LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF LOVE
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you—in you, nothing is too hard; nothing you call me to is impossible. Assure me as I read Scripture today.
Read 1 JOHN 2:3–11
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b] is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:5 Or word, God’s love
- 1 John 2:9 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15, 17; 4:20; 5:16.
- 1 John 2:10 The Greek word for brother and sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in 3:10; 4:20, 21.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Does a dog bark to become a dog, or because it is one? Does a fish swim to become a fish? Do we become Christians by how we act? Or are our actions the result of who we are in Christ?How can we know that we are in Christ? Verses 3 to 6 make it clear. The love of God enters a life, and the Word of God comes in. Subsequently, there is a response as the person grows in their likeness to the God with whom they are in a relationship. John is not saying that obedience leads to knowing God. He is saying that knowing God leads to obedience.
So, do we have a lengthy list of commandments to remember and obey? No. Jesus made it simple. His followers are to love. Love God and love your neighbor. Just as Jesus taught his disciples at the Last Supper (John 13:34, 35). Now, if someone claims to love God but hates his brother or sister, then they are not living in the light as they claim to be (v. 9). As we see in verse 11, the problem is that when someone is still walking around in the darkness, they are blind to that reality and don’t know it.
Apply
Do you ever reverse ‘I am loved, so I obey’ into ‘I obey in order to be loved’?
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, never let me forget that you love me just because you do. Help me to truly love my brothers and sisters in Christ with that same kind of love.
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