"Every the [one] hating the brother of him a manslayer is."
-Hate = murder. Murder is murder, but so is hating your brother. Or sister. That's how God feels about it. That's how He sees it. He cuts us no slack here in the least. It is the antithesis of life, one who takes life, who extinguishes life. Opposing and running counter to the ways of the Life-giver. This is particularly true when that hatred is directed towards a brother. Who in their right mind would so disrespect their Dad and undermine His family by hating their brother, whose blood and kinship they share? Exactly. Cain, that's who. John just talked about him. Cain butchered his brother, cut him down in cold blood. Oh, such sad brokenness, that one would get to the place where they would carry out such a heinous, UN-loving act. Against a fellow family member. In the world, you get something like that, you get hate, but things should not, must not be this way in the church. Not like this. Not like this.
-And let's think about this. What is hate? Because we're not talking about literally terminating another person's life here. We're not THAT depraved, are we? No, what we're talking about such intense personal dislike for another person that you terminate the relationship. They are dead to you. You kill them off in your heart. Every time you see them, in fact. If you see them. You for sure can't stand them, you go out of your way to avoid them, can't say one nice thing about them, the very sight of them makes you angry and totally quenches the Spirit in your heart. And meanwhile the Body of Christ is fractured. No, things should not be this way. Brother, sister, if this is you, you need Jesus. If this is me, I need Jesus. I need Him to intervene. I need Him to help me begin to see this brother or sister as HE sees them. Begin to see that they are not the enemy. They are broken and oh-so-needy (just like me) - but not in need of my murderous glances and bitter avoidance. No, they need forbearance and forgiveness. They need love and grace (just like me). And prayer - prayer not for fire and brimstone to rain down on them from heaven but prayer for mercy and grace, prayer for them the way they would pray for themselves. They are not my enemy.
-But, there is another hater. A murderer from the beginning (John 8.44), that one. The evil one. He is the enemy of our souls, and of the family of God. He set out to deceive, yes, but his intentions were surely murderous, to destroy the life and beauty which God had so meticulously crafted. If he can't steal the glory, he's gonna destroy it.
-But so, hating our brother is tantamount to murder. And Jesus broadened things still further by including anger and arrogance/disrespect ("you fool") in the list of capital crimes against our fellow family members (Matthew 5.22). It is a complete contradiction of terms. How can the life and love of God be in a person who would be so unloving towards another child of God, a brother or sister in the faith? No such loveless life-taker would have eternal life abiding in them. It shows that their darkened heart is shut off from God, in utter depravity and deception. Not in the family. Now, to be sure, there is room for repentance. Always. Come to Jesus today, fall on your knees and beg Him to have mercy on your soul, receive His free offer of forgiveness and eternal life, allow Him to recreate in you a new life and heart of love, love which covers a multitude of sins and missteps and offenses and differences and even the slightest of slights. But most assuredly, there is no quarter for hate (or anger or disrespect) anywhere in the family of God, not here, not now, not ever...!
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