If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 1 John 2:9 NLT
Read 1 John 2:7-14.
John is bringing to us an old command, but in a new light in chapter 2. Years before, when Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment of all…
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 NLT
As John is urging the believers to continue loving each other, He is telling them something they already knew. However, John is explaining this command from a new perspective. He has been exhorting them thus far to live in the Light since Jesus is the Light, and that if they continue with deeds of darkness, they do not have fellowship with the Light. The point he is making in these verses is that living in the light of Christ also means that we will love one another.
Jesus modeled the perfect life of love, and we are to simply follow His example by loving each other. Jesus demonstrated the greatest kind of love possible when He willingly laid down His life for us. There is no greater love!
Loving each other with that same intensity is not just being willing to die for someone. That may never be asked of us. However, to lay down our lives is to submit ourselves for the good of someone else, to put their needs or desires before ours, and to give unselfishly of ourselves to them for the sake of Christ. We celebrate their successes and mourn when they mourn. To love means that our lives are not all about “ME,” but through our all-encompassing love for Christ, we extend His love to the very ones He loves. Of course, that is everyone!
I might also add that loving someone with an unselfish love does not mean that we are to become door mats and allow them to wipe their muddy boots all over us. There are times that the most loving thing we can do in a relationship is to establish healthy boundaries. However, we need to draw lines out of love and mutual respect.
What is difficult to accept in the body of Christ is the large number of broken relationships, hurting hearts, bitterness, and sometimes even hatred toward our brothers and sisters. Hurt feelings can fester when we withhold forgiveness, and the infection of bitterness can consume our hearts.
Judging and making surface presumptions about others, especially without knowing their circumstances, also causes division and shatters relationships. Furthermore, displaying prejudice toward groups of people because of mere surface distinctions, such as skin color, nationality, economic status, political affiliation, religious denomination, etc. is far from the heart of the Father!
In each of these examples, we are allowing carnal feelings to override the love of Christ, and John gives stern warning against such attitudes. He goes so far as to declare that if we claim to be living in the Light but hate our brother or sister, we are actually living in darkness. In other words, we do not have a real relationship with the Light, that is Christ. We cannot say that we belong to Him when we harbor hatred in our hearts.
That is quite a bold statement John makes!
Just as He has been teaching that living for Christ involves a lifestyle that exudes light, he is including the command to love each other as part of this life in Christ. If we live in the Light, we WILL love!
John concludes this section by clarifying the audience to whom he is addressing.
- To God’s children because their sins have been forgiven.
- To those who are mature in the faith because they know Christ.
- To those who are young in the faith because they have won the battle with the evil one.
- To God’s children because they know the Father.
- Again, to those who are mature in the faith because they know Christ.
- Again, to those who are young in the faith because they are strong.
In other words, this letter is to every one of us, regardless of our level of maturity in the faith! Therefore, this command to love applies to every single one of us.
…God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one. (verse 14)
