My dear friends in Jesus, the Light of the world,
Can you imagine what it must have been like those first few moments after the creation of this world? Moses tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…” There were no stars in the sky, no sun to rise, no light of any kind. Complete and utter darkness was over everything. If you have ever been in a cave where no light penetrated, and all the lights were turned off, you can sense what this world was like without light. Without light it would be impossible to see anything.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Light from the sun, light reflected off the moon, light that filled the starry sky. In the light everything could be seen and enjoyed. What a blessing the gift of light is, a blessing we so often take for granted.
Yet in the midst of this beautiful world that could be seen for the great work of God that it is, human beings brought darkness. No, not physical darkness, rather they brought spiritual darkness into this world. “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples…” One of the blessings that God removes from those in hell is light, as Peter describes hell as “blackest darkness” (2 Peter 2:17).
“But the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” (Isaiah 60:2 NIV). That’s why God sent another light into this world, One who would break the gloomy darkness of sin with his glorious light. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NIV) Jesus came to rescue all people from the darkness of sin by enduring the darkness of hell in their place.
It is in this glorious Light that John invites God’s children to live:
LIVE IN THE LIGHT
1. Walk as Jesus did
2. Love your brother
John wrote this letter at a time when the Christian church was under attack by people called Gnostics. As the Christian faith grew, so did opposition to the Christian faith. The Gnostics, who opposed the Christian faith, taught the following:
• There was no incarnation or virgin birth, no atoning death or bodily resurrection
• The heavenly Christ and earthly Jesus were two separate things.
• All matter was evil and only mind and spirit were pure; thus since human bodies are basically evil anyway and just temporary tents for the soul, it didn’t matter how you live.
• The “spiritually advanced” Gnostic leaders were no longer sinful.
• The Bible was an insufficient source of information.
• The apostles had no special authority for telling people how to think and live. (“James, Peter, John, Jude”, p. 205, Mark Jeske)
We can see how dangerous these teachings are, teachings which are still warring against the Christian church today. There are those who teach that God wasn’t born on this earth, that he didn’t suffer and die, when the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, who suffered and died in our place. There are those who teach that we can live any way that we want, as long as we don’t hurt another. They forget that God says, “The soul that sins is the one that will die.” There are those who teach that the Bible is an antiquated book and now that we know more than then, the Bible really isn’t needed in this information age. There are those who teach that it is possible to no longer sin, when the Bible teaches us that we are sinful from our conception to our death. There are those who teach that we don’t need to follow God’s Word anymore, while the Bible teaches us what God’s eternal will is for our lives.
To this John writes: “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” The idea that some “greater joy” awaits us if we live contrary to God’s Word is the same ruse that the old serpent used on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When God shines the light of his Word into our hearts and our lives, we can easily see that we are not living as he wants us to live. For all those sins, Jesus came into this world to suffer and die. Just before the words of our text, John says, “if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2 NIV). Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross in our place to bridge the gap between us and God. It is through Jesus, the Righteous One, that you and I are declared holy and just in God’s sight. Jesus is the Light that drives the darkness from our hearts.
It is this love that we see in Jesus that leads us to love him back. One way that we love Jesus is by obeying what he commands. If we say that we know Jesus, but we don’t do what he commands, we are liars and the truth is not in us. These strong words were spoken to people who liked the idea that they could live any way that they wanted, that they didn’t have to obey the word of God. They still wanted to be Christians, but they wanted an easy Christianity, one where they just received and didn’t do.
When we see this atoning sacrifice made by Jesus, we have seen the Light that God sent into this world to drive away the darkness. By obeying God’s Word, God’s love is truly made complete in us. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Jesus lived a humble life, dependent on his heavenly Father for his care. Jesus went around doing good to all and preaching the good news to everyone. Jesus was willing to make any sacrifice in order to bring people to heaven. Living in Jesus means walking the way he did. We know that we are living in him when we are carrying out the acts that our Savior has asked us to carry out.
“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.” What is our attitude toward all people, especially toward those who are our brothers and sisters in faith?
John makes it clear that if we say that we are Christians, that we believe in him, but we hate our brothers, then we are still in the darkness. Are you holding a strong dislike for someone in your heart? Love leaves no room for anything but love. Hatred doesn’t make our lives better. Hatred makes our lives bitter. The more that hate fills up our heart, the less room there is for love.
Jesus endured hatred while he was here on this earth, even praying that his Father would forgive those who were crucifying him. Jesus suffered for all sins on the cross, including those times that we have unjustifiably gotten angry with someone. Jesus invites us to love everyone, even our enemies: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5:43-44, NIV).” As Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, so Jesus invites us to let his love drive hatred out of our hearts.
When we love those around us, especially those who believe, we are living in the light. In what ways did you show love to the people in your life this past week? In what ways do you plan to show love to those same people this week? Sometimes those people respond to our love in a positive way, sometimes they don’t. But it isn’t our job to decide who gets our love and who doesn’t. God loved everyone in the whole world so much that gave his One and Only Son for us all. We pray that his love for us would strengthen us to love others as he has loved us.
As we conclude our meditation today, let us ponder on what John says later in his letter: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:7-21, NIV)
What is life all about? Life is our opportunity to live in the light. Jesus has brought us into the light of his love, having endured the darkness that we deserved to endure. It is his love that invites us to walk every day as Jesus walked, to live every day as Jesus lived, and to love everyone as Jesus loved. May God strengthen us with his love that we may live every day in the light. Amen.
