Living in the light

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (I John 2:3-6)

Yesterday we explored the story of the rich young ruler who thought he did well with keeping all the commandments and hoped for eternal life to be granted to him as a result. While he did a 'good job' at living by the rules, he missed the one biggest one that said he should worship no other god. You see, his money became his god - he had a hard time when Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor amongst them. Today, we look at the 'measure' of one who obeys God's commandments to the fullest - they follow the example of love that Christ modeled for them while he walked this earth.

In the early church, there were believers who just didn't love one another because there was much division that had to be broken down. Cultural norms had one group pitted against another, kind of like it is today. The rich looked down on the poor. The religious zealots found fault with anyone who wasn't as zealous to follow the Old Testament rules as they were. The oppressed had ill-will against a government that kept them oppressed by taxes that were too much to bear. The conditions of the day made 'loving one another' sometimes harder than it should have been. The walls had to come down. The differences had to be laid aside. 

John went on to instruct, "If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness." Sometimes it is easy to find fault with others, becoming a stumbling block for true unity in this world, isn't it? If we don't live and walk in such a way so as to not cause, nay even allow another person to stumble, we aren't living as Jesus intends. 

Stumbling blocks come in many different forms: gossipers, complainers, rabble-rousers, discontents, or perhaps even those who say they know Christ and then live as close to this world as they possibly can. If we want to enjoy unity, we have to work toward it. We have to be the light in an otherwise very dark world. Jesus wouldn't have us live any other way. Just sayin!