LOVE IS THE STANDARD
Opening Prayer
Lord, I walk in love, as You command.
Read 1 John 2:1–14
2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
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.
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Footnotes:
a 1 John 2:5 Or word, God’s love
b 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.
c 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.
Meditate
‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’ (John 13:34)
Think Further
This section continues John’s pastoral appeal that his ‘dear children’ (v 1) should renounce the ways of darkness and live in the light. John is and remains unflinching on this point: ‘whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did’ (v 6). We might read this and feel hopeless, yet John offers us a rich hope – Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father and the atoning sacrifice for our sins – plus those of the whole world. Somehow, John maintains the tension of expecting full obedience, yet simultaneously recognizing that we will inevitably require the grace and mercy of Jesus on this journey.
For John the crucial way to display obedience is by loving our brothers and sisters. Hatred of a fellow believer is darkness and cannot be tolerated, whereas love presupposes living in the light. The darkness of hate leads to blindness, whereas love leads to ‘true light’ (v 8); the evidence of a genuine faith is a transformed life, which expresses itself mainly through a loving and unified Christian community.
As a parent of teenagers, I can identify with John here. I long for my children to be obedient and make good choices, and I set up a high standard for them. Yet I know that they will invariably make mistakes, and so I want to dispense hope and grace to them as well. We live in this tension as a family, and we often emphasize that the most important area of discipleship is our love: for one another and for others around us. I think this captures a bit of John’s fatherly heart for his extended Christian family and also of fatherly heart of God for all of His children.
Apply
God’s standard is not moral perfection, but obedience in love. Has your lack of love compromised the unity of Christ’s community? Today’s reading offers hope for forgiveness, grace and transformation.
Closing prayer
Father, thank you for providing an advocate with You when we Your children mess up. Thank you for a means of reconciliation.
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