1 John 2:9-11
Verse 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
We mentioned the other day how God had created us for community and we see in our passage today that John wanted his readers to understand how we love our community of faith says a lot about our spiritual status. Our key verse mentions a brother or a sister but since John was talking to believers about living as Christ’s followers, he was not talking as much about our biological siblings as he was talking about the brothers and sisters in the faith.
Jesus had said the world would know we were His disciples by our love for each other (John 13:35) and John was building on that because He saw how believers were treating each other. John had known what it meant to love like Jesus better than most as he was a dear friend of the Lord while He was here on earth. He saw how Jesus loved His friends by laughing with them, teaching them and even correcting them.
John had seen how Jesus had loved those who weren’t close friends but were fellow God followers. Jesus had shown compassion on all He met. He tried to help everyone see the truth about God and His ways, even when He knew the people wouldn’t listen. This was love and it was what John wanted His readers and fellow believers to understand and grasp onto.
Applying love means knowing how Jesus has treated us and passing that forward to those we come in contact with, especially those who are walking with us in the faith. Sometimes those faith sibling relationships can be as hard, or maybe harder, than the biological relationships. But our love for each other reveals if we really love God or not. If we are loving each other in words only it shows we are not living in the light of Christ. If we aren’t applying the love of Jesus to our fellow believers, it shows we don’t love Him and aren’t really His.
Making It Personal
How well do you love your faith family? How could seeing your church family loving each other well, help non-believers look towards Christ? Who do you need to choose to love?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you love everyone in your church? How do you show them you love them? How does loving them show others about Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for showing us how to love. Help us learn to love each other in every way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Comments