Day 22 (Year 2)

Love Brothers and Sisters in the Lord

“But the one who 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 2:11 NASB)

The above scripture echoes the evil eye mentioned earlier (Matthew 20:15). Those who envy God’s grace toward others fall into darkness, and the eyes of their hearts are blinded. Contrarily, those who love God will love what He loves, because God delights in showing grace to various people. Merely seeing God show grace to others already brings joy to His children, and seeing those around us receive His greater grace brings even more rejoicing. This is the normal mentality of a believer.

Today’s verse mentions “hates his brother,” but believers must recognize who the true brothers and sisters are. Brothers and sisters who come from God’s calling and respond to Him in faith and obedience live in the church, belonging to the same heavenly Father. But if false believers infiltrate among the brothers and sisters, not sincerely seeking the truth but instead harboring an unbelieving, evil heart, which causes destruction, weakens others’ faith, or even causes little ones to stumble. Then, when we hate such people, we are not committing sin at all. For if you love what the Father does not love, what is that if not sin?

Many believers have unresolved life issues that are not being fixed according to God’s guidance. As a result, all kinds of sins appear within the community of faith. These problems and sins can give rise to hatred among believers. I understand that the Apostle John emphasizes that we should not allow hatred to arise because of a fellow believer’s occasional sin, weakness in life, differences in social class, or in different ethnic groups. In addition, various problems and hatred circulating in society can easily infiltrate the church, thereby undermining the community’s unity. Thus, John earnestly urges us to love one another precisely to address these potential problems.

Finally, today’s verse indicates that those who hate God’s beloved children are actually living in darkness, not knowing where they are going. Those who hate true brothers and sisters must have missed the tasks God entrusted to them because they are being controlled by wrong emotions. And they are cancerous, spreading within the church. Indeed, darkness can blind the eyes of one’s heart. This is especially something to be vigilant about for those seeking to have the eyes of their hearts opened. In any case, we must pray for God’s help to clear away all darkness before our eyes, to view those around us according to God’s assessment and heart, and to love what He loves, so as to walk in God’s light.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you find it easy to love what God loves and hate what God hates? If you find it difficult, how would you resolve this?

2) How do you think you can love those who are true believers but are in a state of weakness or problems?