“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness.” 1 John 2:9
This passage deals with the clash between the profession of faith and our conduct. More specifically, it deals with the presence of love or hate in our hearts.
Jesus Christ, the true Light, is the light of love. To walk in the light is, therefore, to walk in love. The one who hates his brother, says John, is still in the darkness. The person who holds on to and cherishes bitterness, prejudice and resentment incurs the penalty of a slow and gradual spiritual blindness. They choose the darkness and the darkness eventually penetrates their whole being.
Professor Henry Drummond tells of the fish found in the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, whose eyes had completely shrivelled. As no natural light had entered the cave, nature, with her strange logic, said, ‘There is no light – so there is no need for eyes.’
It seems to be a law of the universe that unused powers wither and waste away. So it is with the mind, the heart and the spirit of people. Something worse than the loss of sight is the eventual loss of the ability to see spiritually. When we allow bitterness, resentment or hate to enter our hearts, and fail to live by the law of love, we drink deep of a poison that slowly but surely blinds and kills.
Our walking in love or hate not only reveals whether we are already in the light or darkness but actually contributes towards the light or darkness in which we find ourselves. The true Christian, the one who knows God and walks in the light, both obeys God and loves his fellow beings. The genuineness of a Christian’s faith can be seen in their right relation to both God and man.
The person with unconfessed and harboured grudges and hatred in their hearts, on the other hand, walks in darkness because they are in darkness. They sadly do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them (Proverbs 4:19).
Hatred, or any feeling that causes us to despise, loathe or detest someone gradually distorts our entire perspective. It is love that sees straight, thinks clearly and makes us balanced in our outlook, judgement and conduct.
A Prayer: O God, I don’t want to stumble around in the darkness anymore, making myself and those I live with miserable and unhappy. Help me to remove every trace of bitterness and hatred from my heart this day, and walk in the light. Amen.
Acknowledgments: Every Day with Jesus – Selwyn Hughes