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"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." (1 John 2:9-11)
Beloved, One of the most tangible signs of our relationship with God is how we deal with other people, especially other Christians. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people in our world today claim a relationship with God and then treat others with bitterness and contempt. I simply do not see how people can call themselves a Christian while they speak words that hurt and tear down those who love the very same God. It just doesn’t make sense. Thankfully, I don’t have to make sense of this. God has already told us what is going on. God says that we can say all sorts of things and make all sorts of claims about knowing Him but the proof is in the pudding. That is, the proof is in how we show our commitment to one another. God’s word says, “Whoever loves his brother abides in light and in him there is no cause of stumbling.” The word used here for love is the word agape which means loyalty, commitment or faithfulness. It is a word that describes a willingness to quickly overlook offenses while working every moment to remove any barrier that comes between us and other Christians. It is a word that describes an attitude of putting others ahead of my needs, my wants or my way of seeing things. It is a word that is so focused on God that it causes me to set aside what I don’t like about another believer and take a genuine interest in who they are because they are one of God’s children too. What agape requires is a willingness to forgive and not harbor old grudges, to take a genuine interest in the welfare of others and not have an attitude that thinks you owe me something. It gives freely but not wastefully by confronting the real heart issue instead of pacifying self-centeredness. It calls us to exalt Jesus Christ as the source of all things instead of encouraging us to seek the attention for ourselves and is willing to consider other points of view instead of insisting on having things done my way. In fact, the Bible says the person who is not willing to do this walks in darkness and cannot see the error of his ways because he is blind. Blind to what he is doing and blind to where his behavior is leading him. The good news is though, “I once was blind, now I see.” God’s regenerating work completely changes even the hardest of hearts. God can take the heart that only wants its own way and changes it to love others. God can take the heart that seeks only what it can get out of other people with no regard for what it can give and changes it to one that gives freely but with responsibility. God takes those who are walking in darkness and moves them to walk in the light of His love; agape, that love of loyalty, commitment and faithfulness.
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