Eternal Life is Now

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

1 John 3:11-15 (NIV)

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, once started off a new season of football by placing a football in front of the team and pronounced, "Gentlemen, this is a football." He, of course, was not insinuating that his players didn't know what a football was, he was making a point that they needed to get back to the fundamentals of playing football. 

The Apostle John takes us back to the beginning, the foundation of our beliefs: Love one another. He contrast love with murder and takes us back to the book of Genesis where Cain, because of his own evil actions, killed his brother whom God was pleased with. It is a pretty stark contrast between love and murder. If you don't have love, your hatred has a logical end: murder. That is not to say that everyone who hates murders, it does mean that hates end is murder. 

Love passes us from death to life. Notice that verse 15 says that "has eternal life in him". It does not say that eternal life is in the future, it states that it is something in us now. When we pass from death to life because we love one another that is eternal life. Sometimes we miss things because we simply don't know what we are looking for. When I love others life opens up. Tomorrow we are going to talk more about this (God willing) but I just want to start us thinking about how love frees while hate restricts. 

God loves us. We loves as he has loved us. That shared loves opens us to eternal life in our lives in the here and now. Enjoy.

Father, help us to love one another and enjoy the eternal life your love gives us. Praise be to you in us today!

The Simplicity and Depth of Love

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness;  he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

I John 2:9-11

The simplicity and the depth of what the Apostle John said is amazing. On the surface he points out the simple difference between hating and loving. Below the surface he reminds us that hating our brother blinds us. 

One of the things that impresses me about my pastor is that he gets along with other pastors and has a deep partnership with so many in the community. Let's be honest, loving some people is not easy. But, the issue is that Jesus loved us, when we didn't love him and we are supposed to love some people even when they don't love us. The simplicity is that the question to ask about how we deal with others is: Is it in love? When you think the other person is in the wrong do you respond in love? When you are in a hurry do you wait in love? Think about how often God waits for you, is patient with you, tells you the same thing again and forgives you. 

The love of God is simple in its' truth and deep in its' application. Hate others and be blinded by the darkness. Love others and walk in the light. 

Father, help us to live in the light as you are in the light. Praise be to you in us today!