How Bright Is Your Light?

"He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 1John 2:9-11

"He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.

I must be honest and say I did not entirely understand why John tagged "until now" onto the end of this sentence. I thought, 'aren't they still in darkness if they say they are in the light and hate others?' But, you see, friends, this instruction is to people who, I believe, were in ignorance. They simply did not know any better. They had not been instructed in the Way, and that is why John wrote this letter to them—and to us. Jesus quotes Levitical law in Matt 5:43 when he says,"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'" (Cross reference this statement with Leviticus 19:18 and Deut 23:3-6). This is what people were taught: love those who love you; hate those who hate you. But now that they are receiving instruction through John's epistle, they can amend their actions, and practice what Jesus commands in Matt 5:44-45 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those two spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

If, however, once we receive the correct instruction, we do not abide in it, we choose to sin. That is rebellion, and John explicitly says that if you hate one another, you cannot love God. And if you do not love God, how can you claim to know Him and be submitted to Him? Hatred towards one another is not of God. The word says that "God is love." 1John 4:8. In 1Cor 13 Paul speaks of the attributes of love: "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy, love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Cor13:4-8a) Jesus' death and resurrection are active demonstrations of this love. Friends, how can we say we love God if we do the things Love does not do? If we are in Christ, we will abide in love and light, thereby doing what the Lord would do. And we will not only love our "brothers." This is not limited to a physical brother; this is humankind. "Love your neighbor" even if your neighbor is the most ungodly person you know. Love them that they might see God's love in you and desire to leave the darkness and step into the light.

He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Let me indulge in an equation here. Loving one another = Abiding in Christ. If we are in him, we will neither stumble nor cause others to stumble. If we love, we will not have hatred, discord, rebellion, backbiting, etc. If we abide in Him, no hypocrisy will exist in our lives and we will not be able to cause others to stumble, nor will we drive away the lost. Friends, the reason hurt Christians and lost humanity don't want anything to with Christianity is because most of the modern-day church doesn't have anything to do with the Love of Christ. It's all judgment and cliques and snobbery and who gave the most money or who has the best attendance record, or which church has the most members. Friends this should not be so! We should be focused on loving the Lost and loving each other, and being open arms for the broken and hurting. "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes." Matt 18:5-6 Why are we so ineffective for the kingdom? Because we cause others to stumble through judgment and offenses. And the Lord says "Woe to us" for offending others.

But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

So, Love = Light (God, good); Hate = Darkness (Satan, evil). In the physical, walking in the dark is dangerous to you. You're easily injured, easily lost. When you walk in the dark, you know nothing about your surroundings…what is before or beside or behind you. But walking in spiritual darkness is even more dangerous, because you harm those around you more than yourself. If hatred and darkness are one and the same, then it follows that hatred causes injury (sometimes irreversible injury) to others and yourself. Hatred causes us to lose our way. It blinds us to God's goodness—to his benefits. When we abide in hatred, all we see is negative; it's all darkness and evil. And if that is what you see, that is what you become. "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt 6:22-23

The decision is ours, friends. If all we take in is bad, we are full of darkness and practice the things of darkness—hatred, sinfulness, pride, lust. But, if what we take in is good, we are full of light and practice the things of light—love, peace, compassion, mercy. How can we altar what we take in? By altaring where we abide. We can either abide in Christ and take in Light, or we can abide in sin and take in darkness. Which one will you choose?

How bright is your light?