Love Your Brother
Nov. 4th, 2020
“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.”
1 John 2:11 NIV
At first reading, most of us think, “Yea I’m doing OK.” I mean there may be a few brothers or sisters that are not my favorite people. But I don’t hate any of them. Well good, we can move on.
But, what does it mean to hate? Hate is used fairly frequently in the Bible. So in this context, what does hate your brother or sister mean? And here is where we get into trouble. In Luke 14:26 we are told we must hate our family. The NLT puts it well, our love for Jesus must be so strong that anything else in comparison looks like hatred. It’s not that we hate our family but we love God to such an extent that nothing else compares. God’s love is the standard. Our love for God is to emulate His love. And if we do not love our brothers and sister in the same way we are hating them. (See John 13:34-35). God is light and there is no darkness in Him. (I John 1:5-6) And we are to be the light to the world. (Matt. 5:14-16) Yet, how can we be a light if we are stumbling in darkness and how can we not stumble if we do not love our brothers and sisters as God loved us? The defining mark of a Christian is to be their love. First love for other Christians and then a love for the lost world. So, your love for your brothers and sisters becomes a direct reflection of your love for God. It is how the world sees your love.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.”
1 John 1:6 NIV
Anchor In The Storm 