Commentary by Rev. Michael VandenBerg
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2: 9-11
What do you see when you talk to Christians? Is it an attitude of superiority, rejection, holier than thou, lack of caring? Perhaps you have met Christians who seem at peace, accepting, loving, caring, involved. Whichever it is, the Bible says that you can tell a lot about this believer.
If they preach love but seem to only hate, then it is clear they do not know Christ. If they are genuinely concerned for your welfare, even if you are not a believer, and do so, they say, because of their love for Christ, then you can be assured they know him.
We see how so many are judged by the action of a few in our society, all Muslims by their radical counterparts, all white people by their lawless few, all African Americans by those who make the news, all Christians by those who profess love but practice hate.
We all know that to pre-judge is both wrong and certainly not helpful, but rather, as the Bible advocates, judge by the fruit of each one. If they hate then it says they walk in darkness. If they love, then they live in the light.
So how should Christians approach the issues of our day? Let’s look at just one of hundreds of possible issues, homosexuality. The Bible says that homosexual behavior is wrong, but then tells us to love one another. How do you do both? The answer is actually quite simple and straightforward, as most of God’s teachings are. We must accept that homosexual behavior is wrong and, like all sin, encourage those engaged in it to turn away from it and follow God. It never tells believers they can reject the person because of their sin, however. It tells us to love them, pray for them, encourage them, draw them closer to God. After all, if God rejected all sinners and not simply the sin his own son died to pay the price for, who would be left for him to love? Just as in good psychology or good communications, theology tells us that we need to work to resolve the issues without rejecting the individual. This is how we become enlightened.
