"But the [one] hating the brother of him in the darkness is and in the darkness he is walking and he is not having known where he is going, because the darkness blinded the eyes of him."
-Something ain’t right here. That’s John’s whole point. Hate and brother do not belong together. It’s the old Sesame Street song - one of these things is not like the other. Hate, brother, and darkness. A hating brother is an oxymoron. Hate dwells only in darkness. Which is where this brother himself really dwells - professing brother, not a brother at all most likely. He is in the dark, and can’t see where he is going, cannot see a thing. His hate has blinded him - the hurt, the woundedness, the animosity, the intense aversion - blinded not BY the light but TO the Light, to the love and forgiveness and joy which could be his, found only in Christ.
-You might be harboring hate in your heart. Is there hate there, festering, lurking somewhere, someplace dark, someplace hidden (or so you think)? It will eat you alive. It will steal your joy and sap your spiritual vitality. And it may hide a heart of unbelief (Jesus Himself said our forgiveness is an indicator of God’s forgiveness in our lives - Matthew 6.14, 18.35). Every time you see that person, (you feel) you need to avoid them (or you just avoid them entirely). Anger rises up in your throat and chokes you, chokes out the love and joy of the Spirit. It's palpable. When you merely think of them even. It’s a joy-stealer. They steal your joy - or so you think - but it's the hate and the unforgiveness which are doing this to you. And things should not be this way. Put an end to it. Drag that hate out into the Light and own it. Recognize what it's doing to you - and let it go. That's what forgiveness is. Let go of the hurt, let go of the need for justice and vengeance, let the Lord heal you by forgiving that person. No, they are not perfect, but then neither are you and I. Tell them you forgive them if you need to, but you forgive them in your heart. And when the enemy, the prince of darkness comes back around and tries to get you to go there, to descend back into the pit of darkness and hate, don’t you do it. Resist him (1Peter 5.8-9, Ephesians 6.13), and stand strong in the strength of the Lord, in His love and forgiveness. No, you and I cannot do this in our own strength, but there is a Power which is greater still, greater by far than whatever wound or damage has been inflicted on any of us, a divine magical forgiveness which is deeper still, older deeper magic from before the dawn of time which governs our own Narnia, set in place by the Emperor-beyond-the-sea Himself. He was - and is - forgiveness waiting to happen. Next verse...
No comments:
Post a Comment