This morning I am reflecting on some verses from John's first letter. He is writing these letters after most of the rest of the New Testament letters and books were written, so we get a glimpse of what was important a bit later in the life of the early church. John starts his letter, much like he starts His Gospel, with a focus on the incarnation and Glory of Jesus. He then steps right into talking about light and darkness, sin and purity. I am going to reflect on a couple of verses from his second chapter, as they seem helpful in light of our present situation. Here are the verses - 1 John 2:1-6,9-11 NIV:
[1] "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
[3] "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. [4] Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. [5] But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: [6] Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."
[9] "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. [10] Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. [11] But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them."
This morning, these three sets of verses stood out to me, for they speak of love and hate of one another, and we seem to have a spate of that present here in America, specifically the hatred. We are clearly in dangerous times and we are allowing ourselves to become more and more divided as we allow enflamed rhetoric and slander, accusations and judgments to influence our thinking. I have heard religious leaders decrying one political stance or the other, claiming you can't be Christian and hold certain party affiliations, or vote for a particular person, and I think this is dangerous ground, the judgment of others based on a label, and our own limited perspective.
This morning I am just reflecting on the simplicity of John's message, one of love, forgiveness and aligning ourselves with Jesus, coming under His atonement. John is very clear that Jesus' sacrifice is applicable to the whole world, available through faith in Him. However, our faith in Him must be more than words, but seen in our actions, in our imitation of His life (1 John 2:6).
While John's encouragements in in verses 9-11 have to do with members of the Body of Christ, his message is really applicable to everyone we meet, for Jesus died for all people in the world, and that means everyone we meet could become our brother or sister in the Body of Christ. As I read these verses this morning I found myself praying these verses for us all, that we would be empowered by God to encourage one another to love and walk in the light, to turn away from hate, and hate filled language!
The other day I was praying for our country and was praying that a spirit of brotherhood would rest upon us all. Webster's dictionary defines brotherhood as feelings of friendship, support, and understanding between people, and that sounds wonderful right now! Can we choose to lay down our opinions and stances, so they don't become weapons?
Are we being blinded by our hatred? Is our utter disdain for one group or one person blinding us and keeping us in darkness? Are we allowing that one opinion to lead us down a path that we don't want to tread upon? Are we investing in division of our country, sowing seeds that will bear similar fruit? Our words and our opinions can become more important to us than our faith. I feel that some try to mask that by creating bible based justifications, and try to justify judgments as righteous indignation.
James is very clear in his statement about us judging one another - James 4:11-12 NIV: "Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you---who are you to judge your neighbor?"
In other words, when we judge one another, we are taking God's position as Judge, effectively elevating ourselves and our opinions over God. We have replaced Him, and used His words to judge others, thus placing our judgments and opinions firmly on the throne. That my friends is idolatry, and as I mentioned before, very dangerous territory.
My prayer this morning is that we take Jesus' words to heart, that we love one another, as He loved us (John 15:12). My prayer is that we put one another before our opinions, that we choose to speak life with our mouths rather than judgment and division. My prayer is that we would take up this invitation to embrace a spirit of brotherhood and that we would look on others with friendship and understanding. My prayer is for peace, and prosperity for all in the midst of these difficult times.
Much love, Sam
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