Week 24, Day 4: Loving God

Today’s Reading:  2 John 1:1-13; 3 John 1:1-14

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

It is not uncommon for people today to make the claim that they love God.  In fact, the vast majority of people (at least in the United States) would probably claim that they love God.  But, the problem lies in the expression of that “love.”  John tells us what is necessary to show a love for God.  In 1 John 5:1-3, John examines the need for us to not only love God, but to love one another.  Remember, in our last post, we saw the need to love our brethren, and the consequences of hating our brethren.  Interestingly enough, John combines a love for our brethren with a  love for God, telling us that both are expressed in the same way:  by being obedient to the commands of God.  This is where things get very troublesome for many people in the religious world.  They want to claim a love for God, but they don’t want to do anything to show that love.  How can a person love God and then not abide by His instructions, or commands?  And yet, most of the religious world balks at the idea of being obedient to God’s will.  They will do things, and claim that they are done “in the name of Jesus”, but they will not be the actions or activities that Jesus has asked us to do.  Showing our love for Him is very easy:  simply be obedient to all that He has required.

Perhaps we can draw a parallel between this and a fleshly relationship to  help us to understand this concept more clearly.  If a husband continually claims to love his wife, but refuses to do the things she asks him to do, he shows that his love is in word only, and not in deed.  This is what most people are like when it comes to their love for God.  But, we need to be the type of people who love not in word only, but also in deed (1 John 3:18).  We need to do what God has commanded.  We shouldn’t be looking for excuses as to why His commands do not apply to us.  We should not be trying to dismiss any “works” out of hand simply because we have a misguided idea about “earning salvation”.  We can never earn our salvation, and yet that does not excuse us from being obedient to all of the commands of God!

So, we leave you with the question:  do you love God?  The only way that you can express that love is to be obedient to His commands, and they are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).

Week 24, Day 3: Blinded by Darkness

Today’s Reading:  1 John 4:1-5:21

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

First, you will notice that I missed yesterday’s post.  Evidently I am not back in the swing of things after turning the posting duties over to Chad for a week!  I will try to write a post on Saturday to make up for my oversight.

There are an interesting couple of verses in 1 John 2:10-11.  John writes that the one who loves his brother abides in the light.  But, he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness.  This one does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.  This concept reminds me of a lake inside a cavern that I once visited.  The lake was full of trout, but the trout had become blind.  They lived for so long in the darkness that their eyes had become useless to them.  They, however, probably never even knew that they were blind.  They went about their lives just the same as if they could see.  The same thing is true about those who hate their brethren.  They are in darkness, and they don’t even know that they are in darkness because their eyes are blinded by the darkness.  Quite often, those who hate their brethren do not even realize that they are in the darkness.  They come to worship.  They sit in the pew.  They participate.  But, they have such hatred for one called a brother that they in reality have no relationship with God.  Often, they don’t even consider that their relationship with God has been hampered in any way.  They think they are justified in their hatred.  They think that God will overlook their hatred.  But, they are really like the fish who have become so blinded by the darkness that they don’t even realized they are blind. They function in almost every way, except to correct their destroyed relationship with their brethren.

We need to make sure that we truly love our brethren, so that we can be in the light.  That is the only way that we can have a relationship with God. If we are not in the light, then we are not where He is.  If we walk in darkness (even if we don’t realize it) we are separated from Him.  If we find it hard to love the brethren here, we certainly won’t have to worry about it when this life is over!

Week 24, Day 2: Walk in the Light

Today’s Reading:  1 John 2:1-3:24

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

John writes that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)  This simple verse explains why God’s expectations for us is so high.  He cannot, and will not tolerate sin in our lives.  We cannot be with God if we are not pure and holy, just as He is holy.  This is why John continued to say that we must walk in the light if we are going to have fellowship with Him.  If we say that we have fellowship with God and we continue to walk in darkness, then we are liars.

This passage is quite problematic for those who believe that we don’t really have to change our actions when we become Christians.  Some think that it too demanding to believe that God wants us to give up all the sin in our lives.  They believe that God, being merciful, does not require that we really give up the things in life that we enjoy or find too difficult to give up.  But, John’s writings are very clear that God expects His people to change their manner of life.  They can no longer continue to walk in darkness, but rather must change their ways to walk in the light.  Can we honestly believe that we “walk in the light” if we continue in the same manner of life as those who are in darkness?

John does not write supposing that we would be perfect once baptized (1 John 1:8).  However, he does indicate that he expects us to have a particular “manner of life” that righteous.  This is conveyed by the idea of “walking” in either light or darkness.  If our manner of life is to walk in the light, then we will strive every day to do what is right, and will change any action in our lives that we find contrary to the word of God.  If we stumble, we can ask for God’s forgiveness.  But, stumbling does not define our manner of life.  We must dedicate ourselves to walking in the light, and never accept that it is acceptable to walk in darkness.  So, every day, commit yourself to walking in the light.  Don’t ever give up!