1 John 2:7-8 - Dear brothers, I am not writing out a new
rule for you to obey, for it is an old one you have always had, right from the
start. You have heard it all before. Yet it is always
new, and works for you just as it did for Christ; and as we obey this
commandment, to love one another, the darkness in our lives
disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.
John affectionately refers to his readers as his children. He
writes to them to plead with them to remember that loving others is the one way
we can know that Christ is in total control of our lives. He knew that love was and is the strongest
weapon we have against the darkness of satan.
The love that Christ plants in our hearts goes beyond the
worlds standards. It is based on self-sacrifice….and
ultimately leads to servanthood. Christ’s
love reaches beyond our friendships and reaches enemies and persecutors.
John also touches on the one thing that lessens our ability
to love more than anything else….the emotion of hate. Any amount of hate will
keep Christ’s love from growing to its fullest potential. Hate plants seeds of lust…pride….and
materialism that keep God’s sacrificial love from taking root as deep as it needs.
I admit that it is hard to stay completely void of any
hate. It goes against our inner being to
love some of the people we read about in the paper…or hear about on the news
each day. But if God loves them then I
must find a way to love them too. The Bible clearly states that I can’t be his
child if I don’t.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I must use your love
to love everyone around me. Forgive me for the times that I have picked who I
wanted to love….and kept a bit of hate in my heart for some. Help me to clean
out my heart of all hate…so you can replace it with love and light and truth. Show
me how to love even the most evil of hearts so they too can someday come to
know your light and love. Amen.
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