There is an old saying, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” John the apostle's words today could be related to that statement. John has been sharing with us how God desires to have fellowship with us, and God has made every provision for us to be forgiven of the barrier that keeps us from that fellowship – sin. In the last few verses he has been relating our relationship with God directly to our relationship with others. In the area of hate, John's words have been very convicting, and he continues his thought today in chapter two verse eleven:
But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
John lets us know there is a connection between hating someone and being in and walking in darkness. John says the person who hates another person doesn't even know where he is going, and the reason is because the darkness of hate has blinded his eyes. If you remember from chapter one of this great little book, John wrote:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
John declares that if a person hates another person, he or she is walking in darkness, and that means fellowship with God is absent. It is imperative that we not hate others. No matter what they have done, no matter how destructive, mean, violating, and torturous they have been, hatred for them only keeps us in the darkness, and fellowship with God is absent. Now I realize that this requirement goes beyond any human ability, and this is the reason that we must rely upon God's power to accomplish this. Most have heard the statement, “To err is human, to forgive Divine,” and the key to finding hatred removed is to wholly depend upon God Almighty to remove any hatred that is within.
Perhaps this is the very reason that John writes the next verse in this chapter, but we shall look at it at another time.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, find locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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