“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever 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 2:9-11 ESV)
For all the ignorance of the broader secular culture when it comes to the teaching of Scripture, Jesus’ command in Mark 12:31 to “love your neighbor as yourself” is one with which even the most apathetic are familiar. It is the second greatest commandment and one that is foundational to the Christian life. For all the importance of this command, however, God gives believers an even more intimate command to love their brothers and to “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
Our love for fellow believers is certainly not to the exclusion of love for our neighbors but where our love begins. Love for other believers is such a foundational aspect of our union with Christ that those who fail to do this expose themselves as being not only at odds with one another but at odds with God. John states directly that the one who “hates his brother is still in darkness.” Those who profess faith in Christ but hate the people of Christ disprove their profession by showing that they have not truly been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.
. While we cannot see the heart of man, we can see the overflow of his heart that guides the words of his mouth and the actions of his hands. Those who have been called by the Good Shepherd will, by necessity, have a genuine, deep, and full love for other sheep in his fold
Satan loves division among the people of God, but Jesus prays to the Father that his people “may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:22-23). A fractured church brings neither glory nor joy to the One who died for her. John is not saying that believers all need to share a surface-level uniformity in which they agree on all minor issues. Repenting and believing does not remove the individual personalities, convictions, and preferences of believers, but it does mean that Christ takes precedence and permanent residence upon the throne of the heart of each and every member of the elect. This shared love for God results in a shared love for one another.
With this in mind, it becomes clearer why John places such profound weight upon loving our brother. The horizontal love believers have for one another flows from and exhibits the vertical love they have for God. If you do not love your Christian brothers and sisters, neither do you truly love God.
Jesus also says, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). This extends the significance of John’s words even further, because it is not just about how the Christian community shows its love within the walls of the church. Love for one another is a primary factor in missions. But if we proclaim the gospel with our mouths while showing our listeners a divided spiritual family wrought with infighting, what would compel them to enter into that family?
As we love one another, we show ourselves to be of the light, we honor and serve one another, we glorify the name of Christ, and we offer a compelling witness to a world that is craving something eternal. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 5:19), and if he has placed his love upon us, we will be eager to love one another.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You have loved us in Christ with an eternal love. As you have poured that love into us, may you cause it to also flow out of us in love for our brothers. As you have saved us from the darkness, may you also work in us a genuine love that bears witness to that salvation.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for the ongoing effort tosend missionaries to the lost and unreached.
- Wednesday: Pray for missionaries planting churches in Eastern Europe.
- Thursday: Pray for missionaries serving in pro-life prenatal ministry in Peru.
- Friday: Pray for short-term teams in Zambia using medical care to reach the lost with the gospel.
- Saturday: Pray for the staff and students of SBBE Toledo seminary in Spain.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries working as design and construction professionals.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving in Germany.
Featured Serving Opportunity:
Nursing Clinical Faculty
Location: Togo
Nursing clinical faculty are needed to teach and mentor nursing students during their clinical rotations at ABWE’s two hospitals in Togo, Africa.
