TRUE CHRITIANITY

Vol 2 No 49 THEO'S DEVOS

1 John 2:11 Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in darkness. Such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness. NLT

Our verse today is, perhaps, one of the most difficult to appropriate given our fallen human natures that haunts us even as Chrisitians. It would be bad enough if the Bible said that anyone who hates his brother is doing a bad thing that needs to be confessed. but it is much worse than that. To hate your brother or sister is to walk in darkness. The implication here is that hating your brother or sister flies in the face of true faith. The ability to hate comes naturally to us and the ability to love in the worst of circumstances can only happen when something supernatural is alive within us. Only God can truly love like that and He is the only one that can enable us to.

One major impediment to not hating someone who we believe deserves it is wrapped up in our reluctance to forgive. Human beings can oftentimes find it almost impossible to forgive when we believe that the person in focus does not merit that forgiveness. This is to misunderstand the whole process of forgiveness. It is a failure to understand that forgiving someone fress the forgiver as much as the one being forgiven. Bearing hatred in our hearts is a blinding force. It tends to draw our focus on the one hated and can keep us from loving others in the manner that God would want us to. When we forgive someone, we free our minds to love others and can get our thoughts off of the paralyzing force that has captivated us.

Did you know that you can be surrounded by light and walk in dsrkness. It really isn't hard to do. Just close your eyes. Light does you no good if you are not watching where you are going. To be a Christian and to hate you brother is like walking through life with your eyes closed. You blind yourself and are, in effect, lost. Just as lost as if there were no light at all. But this isn't necessary. You can open your eyes and take advantage of the light. You can forgive that person who, you feel, doesn't desreve it so that you can focus on the direction that God would have you go. It is to open your spiritual eyes and allow God to guide you past whatever obstacles life has put in your way. Do not allow our adversary to blind you by throwing boulders in your path in the form of other people. Learn to love like God does. I know that this is easier said than done but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

“How can I forgive that person when I know that I will never forget what they did?” This is, perhaps, one of the most often stated lines where forviveness is required. And it is true that you may never forget. Forgiveness does not mean to forget. It simply means to 'act' as if you have forgotten. Now that you can do and that is what God is looking for. It is our actions that reveal what we are thinking and God can help you with them. Ask Him to do what you cannot. Ask Him to live His life in, and through, you. Watch what changes. Talk to Him every morning and renew your desire to follow His lead. If this is something that you know you should do, please do not wait. Every day that you hesitate will make it less likely that you will follow through.

Is there someone you should forgive? Is there someone that you harbor hatred toward? Please be careful. Allow God to do His work and help you do yours. You are not in this alone. There are many who pray that you will be able to learn a life of love and thereby do the work of God. May He bless you as you do.

Theo