1 John 2:9

The 5th test of Christian Behavior

1 John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

To back up for a minute, verse 8 is helpful to read before dissecting verse 9.

v. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

The darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Who is the light? God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. The Trinity, who now lives in you, because Jesus made the gift possible and you have accepted the gift. They have made their home in you.

If you walk into a closet and close the door it is dark inside. But as you slowly open the closet door, light begins to shine in, eventually overtaking the darkness. An unbelievers heart is like being in a closet with the door shut. There is no light, only darkness. A new believer is starting to open the door and the light is present and begins to flood the dark closet. The light eventually takes over all the darkness and this is called sanctification and is a lifelong process. It sometimes takes awhile for the light to break through to all the nooks and crannies in the closet. There may be shadows for a while.

Love is the very nature of God. He loves us beyond measure, and he wants us to love him back and to love those he loves. God wants us all to come to know him, so that means we are to love everyone, especially fellow believers, but everyone.

Love is hard for us because our natural self is selfish, prideful, arrogant, and impatient. We naturally want to fight, divide, and conquer. We couldn't begin to love ourselves or anyone else without the love of God living in us. We couldn't begin to look at others the way God does without knowing for ourselves how much God loves. God didn't come after us with disgust and shame for our behavior. He pursued us with love and grace. He loved us first and accepted us.

Once we see our sinful self against his holy presence, and experience his love DESPITE all that we are, then we can truly know what love and grace have done for us. Experiencing that for yourself allows you to be humble and gracious toward others. Knowing God's heart and desire for all to find peace in him, we feel compelled to tell others about him. We reach out in love and acceptance with the message of God's hope and we let the Word of God convict those, just as we were convicted. We don't go running in stating all they are doing wrong because that's not how God caught our attention.

It's not easy to love others. It is hard to love the sinner and hate the sin. It is even hard to love other Christians most times. We cannot do it on our own. We need to be constantly in prayer and dependent on Christ to give us his eyes, to give us his heart, and to give us the servant attitude we need to love others. We look to him as our example, as our guide, as our source of love. He fills us up and gives us what we need to overflowing, so that his love can be shared with others.

We should examine ourselves from time to time. How are we loving those around us? Do we need to start praying for help in this area? Have we really identified personally, the way Christ has loved us, and how that love has impacted our lives? Is the impact moving us to reach out to others? Is the love of Christ overflowing out of us? Spend some quiet time thinking about what Christ has done for you, how he has affected your everyday life, how you are different, and what might you have learned that you could share with others so they to may be impacted by Christ the way you have.