Today, Saturday July 10
Life, Love and Light
1 John 2:7-11 "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Have you noticed that words, like coins, can be in circulation for such a long time that they start wearing out? Unfortunately, the word love (or, as it is now sometimes spelled, luv) is losing its value and is being used to cover a multitude of sins.
“I love hot dogs, baseball and I love my wife.” It is really difficult to understand how a man can use the same word to express his love for his wife as he uses to tell how he feels about hot dogs and baseball! When words are used that carelessly they really mean little or nothing at all. Like the dollar, they have been devalued.
As John describes the life that is real, he uses three words repeatedly: life, love, and light. In fact, he devotes three sections of his letter to the subject of Christian love. He explains that love, life, and light belong together. Please read these three sections (1 John 2:7-11); 3:10-24; 4:7-21), without the intervening verses and you will see that love, life, and light must not be separated.
In our present study (1 John 2:7-11), we learn how Christian love is affected by light and darkness. A Christian who is walking in the light (which simply means he is obeying God) is going to love his brother Christian.
In 1 John 3:10-24, we are told that Christian love is a matter of life or death: to live in hatred is to live in spiritual death. In 1 John 4:7-21, we see that Christian love is a matter of truth or error. Because we know God's love toward us, we show God's love toward others.
In these three sections, then, we will find and see three good reasons why Christians should love one another: God has commanded us to love (1 John 2:7-11). We have been born of God and God's love lives in us (1 John 3:10-24). God first revealed His love to us (1 John 4:7-21). "We love ... because He first loved us."
Jesus is the revelation of God’s love to us (John 3:16). When we experience His love through His cross, we can now walk in the light of His life and live the life that is real! And it will be evidence by our love for one another!
God bless!