Being wronged by another person is probably one of the most difficult parts of living. When we feel like someone has taken advantage of us, deliberately slighted us or willfully hurt us, hate is a natural reaction. This is where the apostle John brings us today. When it comes to walking in fellowship with God, how we relate to others reveals a lot about our relationship with Him. He writes in First John chapter two and verse nine:
He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.
John tells us basically this – If you say that you are walking in fellowship with God and hate another person, you are not really walking in fellowship with God. If there is anyone, anywhere, past or present whom we know inside of us that we “hate” that person, we are not in fellowship with God. There is no denying that they did us wrong. There is no denying that there is good reason, and there is no denying that the hatred we have may be justified, but John says once again, “He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now.”
Hatred for others must be done away with. It must be gone, and I know of only one who can relate to being wronged who is able to remove our hatred – Jesus. Consider the following verses from Isaiah chapter fifty-three:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth.
Jesus was wronged. Jesus had a good reason to hate, and Jesus was justified if He desired to hate those who killed Him, and yet, His cry upon the cross was, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Jesus' example is our example. Jesus did nothing wrong, and yet our sin tortured Him. Jesus did nothing wrong, and our sin caused Him to suffer. Jesus did nothing wrong, and He was killed on our behalf. Only love that supersedes the wrongful acts against Jesus could ever or would ever keep Him from hating, and the power that He has to replace justified hate with love is available to all who ask Him for it.
There is a contrast to this hatred that John shares, but we shall take a look at that tomorrow.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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