Scripture: 1 John 2:11 (The Message)
"But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness."
Observation:
The author of 1 John is writing so that the church would know who was and who wasn't walking as followers of Christ.
Application:
I've done pretty well with the Big 10...you know, the ones Moses packed down the mountain to the Israelites. I've done alright, for the most part with Big Two that Jesus taught the disciples...you know, love God with heart, mind, body, and soul and love your neighbor as you love yourself. He even said that the law and the prophets hung on those two. I'm totally cool with that.
The social justice example of Jesus, I've got that one. I'm comfortable with broken people, spend time ministering with the sick and the prisoner, and look out for those on the margins. Those things make me feel pretty good about who I am as a Jesus freak, but...
...yeah, there's always a but...
...I saw him the other day...Doofensmirch to my Perry...My arch nemesis...the one person who made my life a living hell for years...and sitting there at the stop light, across the intersection from each other, I was blinded by the darkness. Oh, I've forgiven him, if forgiving him means taking my hands off of his throat...I wish him no ill or harm...but I can't forget. I've tried.
Now, as a follower of Christ, I have to try harder.
Prayer:
O God of the light, forgive me when I stumble into the dark. Allow the voice calling from within me be the voice of the love of Christ and not the hateful voices from the dark one. Remove from within me all that would keep me from following where you lead. Give me a heart to love, even those who have hurt me. Amen.
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