1 John 2 - 10.9.25
SCRIPTURE: 1 John 2: 1-2; 9-11
S - 2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 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.
O – First John was written to dispel doubts of who God is and to build assurance by presenting a clear picture of Christ. We know we have sinned, but Jesus has already suffered our penalty in our place. You can’t be tried for a case that is no longer on the docket. Entering history, Jesus was and is God in the flesh and God in focus – seen, heard, and touched by the author of this letter, John the apostle. He was a first-hand witness as he walked, talked, and lived with Jesus. John wrote this letter to no particular church. It was a pastoral letter to several Gentile congregations explaining in simple and practical terms what it means to have fellowship with God. He is urging us to obey Christ fully and to love all the members of God’s family. He presents God as love – giving, dying, forgiving and blessing. God IS love and this truth should motivate us to live close to him. And we can be sure of our relationship with Him when our lives are filled with good deeds and love for others.
A – We are blinded when we look at others and think to ourselves, “Hey, I’m not as bad as all that. Sure, I sin, but they are just little sins. Look at what he/she is doing!” I am guilty lately of seeing some things on social media that make me cringe…that make me question certain people’s love and commitment to Jesus. Or as Moses said in his comments yesterday, the things I see can also anger me to such a place of disgust and that is NOT love! It actually is just straight out sin. So yay, look at me LOL God never told us to just love the loveable, to just pray for our fellow brothers and sisters, but to love the whole WORLD and to pray for our enemies. Our enemies are anyone who would lie and say that God doesn’t exist. Love is about self-sacrifice, selfless giving and loving even the difficult ones, perhaps especially them. We need to reach beyond friends to enemies and persecutors. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Boy does the world need to see us leave our mark right now more than ever! Love is the key to walking in the light, because we cannot grow spiritually while we hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationships with each other and with the outside world who is watching us with eagle eyes during these dark times. And the truth is we ALL deserve the punishment of the cross. We need to picture ourselves up on that cross because that is where we should be, and then fall on our knees in gratitude to the one who freed us from such a horrible suffering.
P – Lord Jesus, forgive me for ever looking at someone else’s life choices and having judgmental thoughts and even disgust in my heart. That is not of you, that is not the person you have called me, or any of us to be to be as your children. Help me to be so filled with love for those who don’t know you, those who rebel against you, and those who flat out deny you. Help my life be a SHINING example of the love you have given me by living a holy life that shows my love, devotion and awe over what you have done for ME.
- Crystal Flory
