1 John 2:9-11

1 John 2:9-11

The one who says to be in the light while also hating his brother and is still in darkness.  The one who loves his brother remains in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.  And the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks around in the darkness, and has not known where he goes because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In these verses, John focuses on contrasting two pairs of words.  The first pair of words is love and light – which John contrasts with hate and darkness.  We know that God is love.  We also know that John calls Jesus the light of the world.  Therefore it should not be a surprise to hear John connect love and light together.  God loves us unconditionally.  If we are living as God desires us to live, we will put God’s unconditional love on display through us.  Furthermore, we are especially to love our brother.  Spiritual people should be able to love other spiritual people.  They might not always agree.  They might not even always like one another.  But spiritual people should always be able to love one another.

Do you love the spiritual people in your life at all times?  What makes it easy to love?  What makes it hard to love?  Do you love the people in the world who do not know God?  Why is this an important question to ask?

Second Thought:

The second pair of words that we need to look at is darkness and hate.  Of course these words naturally contrast with light and love.  But here’s the thing.  John is pretty clear.  If we have hate in our heart, we are in darkness.  Hate may not be the opposite of love, but it is still not found in God if it is directed towards obedient and spiritual people.  In fact, darkness blinds us.  Darkness allows us to become confused as to where we are.  Darkness dislocates our identity in the Father.  We are called to love, not hate.

Do you hate any spiritual brothers?  What does this say if we answer yes to this question?  Why is this a challenging question to ask about ourselves?

Third Thought:

Finally, note that John lived out this teaching.  What has he called the recipients of this letter?  More than once John has called them “Beloved.”  We are to see the people around us as beloved people – especially those who are brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to call them beloved.  We are to speak to them as beloved people.  We are to put God’s love on display.

How do you put God’s love on display?  Do you find this hard or easy?  What conditions make it easy to put love on display?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 2:12-14