Turn Your Flashlight On

"Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
1 John 2:10-11 (ESV)

Twelve times, Jesus told His disciples to love one another, so when John calls this a "new commandment," he doesn't mean new in time. He means new in kind. Jesus said it in John 13:34, "Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." The standard isn't ordinary human love. It's His, the love that died for the soldiers who drove the nails and the disciple who denied even knowing Him.

John pushes that logic further than you might want. "Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." (1 John 2:11) If you know the God you have not seen, you cannot keep hating the brother you have seen.

Think about a blind man who walks the same street every night carrying a flashlight. Someone asks him why. He says the light isn't so he can see, it's so others can see him coming. He can't help being blind, but he can avoid being a stumbling block. Every person in your life becomes a stepping stone toward God or a stumbling block away from Him.

Take a moment now, and name the one person you've decided is too hard to love. Jesus loved the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, the Pharisees who criticized Him, and the disciples who denied Him. Pray this sentence with me, "God, give me the heart of Jesus." Then send one small act of kindness their way, a text, a call, an honest word, because that flashlight only works when carried.

Prayer: Father, You already know who I've been refusing to love well. Give me what You gave the soldiers who crucified You and the disciples who denied You. Help love those who seem difficult to love–the way You have loved me. In Jesus' name, amen.