“OUT OF THE DARK”

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.”

1 John 2:9

Love is such a powerful thing. It allows us to look past another person’s faults and imperfections. It brings peace and contentment. It gives us a good night’s sleep and wake up each morning with a renewed sense of purpose. Simply put, a person who loves can do almost anything.

But equally powerful is hate. I have seen people who filled their hearts with enmity and essentially reduced their world to the four corners of their room. Many relationships ended because people did not want to forgive. Countless families were broken; numerous children grew up in dysfunctional homes and sought love and affection somewhere else. Sadly, most of them got into trouble—serious trouble.

What’s even more concerning is that there are professing Christians, sometimes even those who have been attending church for years do not love their fellow believers.

John warns us that a believer who nurses hatred proves he is still in the darkness. As we have learned in our previous studies, darkness refers to evil things and light refers to good things. Keep in mind that this epistle addresses Christians as John uses the term “his brother” to describe a fellow believer. Without a doubt, an unbeliever can hate a physical brother, but since he has no spiritual family, he cannot really hate his (spiritual) brother. Therefore, this warning is for Christians.

According to John, a professing Christian who hates a fellow believer still lives in darkness. Such a person, though saved, cannot legitimately claim to have an intimate knowledge of God. If he really knew the Lord, he would love his brother.

Hatred basically poisons our hearts, darkens our life, produces bitterness, and causes us to lose spiritual enlightenment.  When we hate someone, not only do we shrink our world, but we also damage our personal testimony. How can we truly say we have an intimate relationship with God when we can’t look another believer in the eye?

In His Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus addressed this matter. He said that our offering is worthless if we have failed to settle a dispute with another believer. For clarity’s sake, Jesus said that we do not have to wait for the other person to come to us and make amends; we should proactively initiate the reconciliation process. We should do it quickly. Jesus also taught that hatred makes us murderers at heart and liable to judgment (Matthew 5:21-22)!

Hatred defines those who don’t love God, not His children. If you look at yourself as God’s child, I encourage you to do as your Father says. Humble yourself and take the first step to being reconciled with anyone with whom you have an issue. Settle your matters quickly and take that bitterness off of your chest! Get out of the dark—now.

Pursue the Savior today!