If anyone claims, “I am
living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others
to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and
walking in darkness. Such a person does
not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. 1 John 2:9-11 (NLT)
John, the beloved apostle wrote about loving others; a lot!
But John wasn’t always so compassionate; at one point in time, he
and his brother James were nicknamed the sons of thunder[2] by
Jesus. This was because the brothers
were prone to anger and knee-jerk reactions.
On the road to Jerusalem some of the crowds rejected Jesus. James and John asked for permission to call
down fire from heaven to burn up the unbelievers. Jesus rebuked them and they had to recheck
their theology of crowd control.[3]
Question?
How does a man go from wanting to incinerate a whole crowd for simply
disagreeing with your position…to one who says that kind of hate means you don’t
know the first thing about God?
Pretty simple, actually; John was not so set in his dark ways that
he couldn’t entertain the possibility that he was wrong. That’s called “being teachable”.
And when that’s possible, then light coming into your life is also
possible. And the kind of light Jesus
brings will dispel a multitude of darkness!
Paul said to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.[4] This is what had happened to John, a
thunderous, judgmental, hard-headed reactionary; He entertained the truth of
Jesus’ kind of love and it changed everything.
John went from that kind of mindset where you’re absolutely
certain you could straighten out anybody, because you’ve got a corner on the
truth market, and everyone should do things your way…..to living in the light
of God’s truth, that loving others is the only way to keep from stumbling
around in life.
John learned the humility of love; he learned how to live in the
light.
For You Today
How’s the light in your
world today?
If it needs turning up a
little, do a love-check on your relationships; entertain the possibility that
loving others is better than convincing others you’re right.
Better to be beloved, than a
son
of thunder!
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