Today we are looking at part of a letter that is attributed to the Apostle John. It’s one of three letters: 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John, and together they are often referred to as the Johannie Epistles. It is believed that just over 1900 years ago, the Apostle John was writing today’s letter to a group of Christ followers in Asia Minor. Friends, you and I must keep in mind that as believers, God’s Word is always speaking directly and currently to us. So, we need to ask what is God’s Word saying to us through John’s letter? In 1 John 2:7-11, John is reminding us that we are not just followers of Christ Jesus, rather, you and I, as believers, are called to live in the likeness of Jesus; and Jesus commands us, as believers, to love others like He loves each one of us (as a part of His creation).
I have a soft spot for the Gospel of Matthew. This happened years ago when the Spirit moved within me during a study on the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. A couple of years later, when The Chosen came out, the writers portrayed Matthew in a way that just reinforced my love for his Gospel and how he learned from Jesus and how he encourages us to learn from Jesus. In Matthew 25, he reminds us of Jesus’s return in “The Final Judgment”. At this time, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, by placing the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand. Those on His right will enter His Kingdom as they will have loved God’s Family like Jesus loved them; while He will curse the ones on His left for when they did not love the least of God’s children, they were not loving Jesus. Friends, this message directly connect to today’s passage from John and his message for the Church and about God’s Family. You and I will be separated as sheep and goats. This is not about all believers being sheep and all unbelievers being goats, no, this is about how you and I treat (love) one another as believers, and as a part of God’s Family.
In today’s letter, John reminds us, that you and I are commanded, by God, to love one another within our spiritual Family. This might seem like a simple ask, but do you and I love ALL of our spiritual brothers and sisters as Jesus loves them? Do you and I take a humble posture in our relationships with our spiritual brothers and sisters? And, if we look back at Matthew 25, do we feed the hungry, give something to drink to the thirsty, show hospitality to a stranger, cloth the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned? Friends, we must remember that when we judge another believer, or any person, we are judging Jesus. John uses the word “hate”, and you might be thinking, well, I don’t hate anyone, so I will be fine during the Final Judgement. Remember, our call to love our brothers and sisters is to love them like Jesus loves them, not simply to just not hate them. We need to be asking the Holy Spirit, each and every day, to change our hearts to be more and more in alignment with the heart of Jesus, so that we are living in His Light, in His likeness, and loving as He calls us to love all of His creation.
1 John 2:7-11 (NLT)
A New Commandment
7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 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.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for setting the ultimate example of how we are to love one another. Holy Spirit, please convict us to know when we are not loving as You call us to love. Guide our souls (minds, wills, and emotions) and hearts to be more like Jesus. Help us with our spiritual blindness, deafness, and hard human hearts. We want to be Your sheep that follow Your voice, and the call You have on our lives, so please help us to not be the goats. May You guide us today to love like You love, help our hearts feel Your limitless love for Your Family and for those who do not know You so that they want to become a part of Your loving Family. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.