Living in the Light

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him." I John 2:9-11

There is an old saying that goes, "There is nothing new under the sun". This certainly hold true when it comes to religious wars. We often think of the religious wars in terms of the Crusades or the atrocities of the post-Reformation era, where Protestants and Catholics alike killed each other for the sake of truth. Even Martin Luther said it was legitimate to kill a heretic. Today, I am thinking in micro terms, not in terms of the macro wars of the 12th century crusaders.

From Pentecost to the present, every church (micro) has its religious wars. I have been blessed to have been in churches in over forty countries and have seen the power of love and the power of war. The war can be between groups or individuals within the church or it can be between the clergy and the laity. Destruction is always the outcome. However, the greatest destruction is what comes to the name of the Lord.

John uses the word 'brother' in reference to those who are in the community of Christ. It is true that Christ's love in us can be a powerful draw to the unconverted, as we saw in our last writing. Yet, the lack of that very same love can have devastating consequences within the church. Hatred (let's call it what it really is) in the church is a mystery to me. I don't mean that I am above it; I just mean that it's the one thing that Jesus commanded we do and we just don't do it. Jesus was very clear that we are to "Love one another" and yet we do not do it very well.

This is not just a problem here in the United States where committee meetings in the church often go south. I have seen people in churches in far away countries screaming at each other, hitting each other, and causing incredible pain. I have seen pastors of different denominations sit across the table from each without even a word of greeting or eye contact. How can this be? How can there be hatred in the church in every decade, every year, since the time of Christ?

I am sorry that I don't have a complete answer to those questions. I do know that there are issues in my life that are destructive to the very core of this love that John writes about. I realize that I have had misconceptions that make it easy to attack instead of to love.

First, I have come to realize that people will never make me happy. How many times have we thought about the people at work, the people at church, or even the people in our family as those who make our lives unpleasant? So, we make a change to a new church or a new job and soon find ourselves back in the same place again. As Henri Nouwen wrote, "The stronger our expectation that another human being will fulfill our deepest desires, the greater the pain is when we are confronted with the limitations of human relationships." Once we are disappointed in people we begin to attack.

Second, I have come to realize that love is more than just warm feelings or compatibility. Love is a choice. More than what I feel, it is what I do. I cannot dictate how those around me will act, but I can dictate my response. As rocks were being thrown at the head of Stephen and were killing him, I don't think he felt warm fuzzies for those hurling the rocks. But he did choose to love them and asked the Lord to forgive those who were about to steal his very life.

As one spiritual writer put it, "Some people become bitter as they grow old. Others grow old joyfully. That does not mean that the life of those who become bitter was harder than the life of those who became joyful. It means that different choices were made, inner choices, choices of the heart." In this same way, one chooses to love. I have a long way to go, but I think I am catching on.

The third thing I have discovered is that I cannot love others until I love myself. Our world tells us that we are loved based on what we do, what we have, and what we accomplish. I am what the world says I am. If I do not match up to the standards of the world then I am unhappy because I feel unloved. Yes, appearance, performance, and status rule our lives unless we embrace God's value system. God has chosen me (and you) to be His child. He knows I am not perfect, and yet He knows that I am trying to be because I want to be like His Son. I don't earn His love, pay for His love, or beg for His love. I have it all.

Martin Luther King, Jr. put it so well in one of his sermons:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."

So the question that John raised is this: Are we walking in the light today, or are we walking in darkness? Today's actions will tell us the answer to that question.

Blessings to you,

Dan Owens

Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries