1 John 2:7-8

1 John 2:7-8

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you all but an old commandment that you all have had from the beginning.  The old commandment is the Word that you heard.  Yet, I write a new commandment to you all, which is true in Him and in you all because the darkness is being made to cease and the true light already shines.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

John begins this pair of verses by reminding his audience that what he is talking about is a very old concept.  God has been at work throughout all human existence.  God’s character does not change.  He has been working towards redemption from Abraham to Moses to David to the prophets to Jesus.  God wants to be in relationship with human beings and has always wanted it.  This is not a new thing.

What does it reveal about God that He has been at work to bring about salvation for thousands of years?  How can this help us trust and rely upon God?

Second Thought:

However, John does acknowledge that there is an element of newness to it.  In fact, there has always been an element of newness to God’s work.  Abraham didn’t know about the Law.  Moses knew about the Law but didn’t know about the Kingdom.  David knew about the Law and the Kingdom but didn’t know Christ in the flesh.  When Christ came, the full plan was revealed for the whole world to hear and see.

Do you see how God has been unveiling His plan bit by bit throughout history?  Does this relate to your experience with God in how He reveals Himself over the span of your life?  What does this tell us about God?

Third Thought:

As John closes these verses, he returns to the idea of light and darkness.  Light shatters darkness.  The closer the light comes, the more darkness has to flee.  The more Christ comes into our life, the more sin needs to get away.  That’s the neat thing about light.  The only way to stop light is to bury it behind a blind.  But there is no way to get rid of light as long as the light is allowed to shine.  You can bury it, shutter it, cover it.  But you cannot stop light that is allowed to shine.  In the same way, we can bury Christ, quit listening to Him, or blind ourselves to Him.  but when we allow Him to shine into our life, there is no way to not feel His effects in our life.

Where does Christ impact you in your life?  Where does the light of Christ shine?  Where do you not allow the light of Christ to penetrate?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 2:9-11