Tidings for Tuesday
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. 1 John 2:9
Do you, as a Christian, hate homosexuals? Of course not! We certainly don’t agree with their sinful lifestyle or condone what God has declared to be an abomination. But we don’t hate them; as with all other sinners, including saved sinners, we show them the love of Christ as much as possible. And yet, those who promote and endorse that lifestyle insist that everybody who does not openly accept them and agree with them is hateful and is spreading hate against them. That of course is utter nonsense. They are actually the ones showing hatefulness against Christians. When it comes to people like that, there is a very narrow band of activity in which we can display the love of Christ, because we have so little in common. Actually, that goes for other Christians who are living in a backslidden condition, or Christians who affiliate themselves with organizations that are following doctrines that are contrary to the plain teaching of the Bible. And yet, there is room for us to have a measure of fellowship with them. Because walking in the light means that we not only don’t hate our brother, but that we show love in every way that is scripturally possible.
How do we know that we are to love one another? The Lord Jesus said so! ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another’ (John 13:34). And there are plenty other Scriptures that support His words. We are never to count a Christian as an enemy, however disobedient he might be: ‘And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother’ (2 Thessalonians 3:14,15). Our attitude toward such a brother should always be with a view to restoration: ‘Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted’ (Galatians 6:1). And that restoration should always be sought with wisdom and meekness: ‘Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations’ (Romans 14:1). With every Christian, we ought to make sure that our attitude is right: ‘With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love’ (Ephesians 4:2).
The world is in darkness, and unless you and I avoid any hate or hateful behaviour toward our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we will be in darkness too, even with all of the light that we have. – Jim MacIntosh