# Hating Brothers and Sisters



## OPC'n (Feb 20, 2009)

1John 2:7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Before, I always thought this verse meant how you felt towards a brother or sister. I would evaluate my feelings towards them to be sure that I had no anger or hateful feelings towards them and that I did things for them to show them my love. I believe this is a good interpretation, but recent events have shown me that it isn't the only interpretation. "There is no cause for stumbling" I believe is caused when I really like a brother or sister more than I do God's law. When they fall I don't show them their error and help them back up or vise versa. It is quite a hateful thing I have just done to that brother or sister even though one wouldn't see hateful actions as we know hateful to be. I might even get down into their sin and wallow in it with them, and so I have stumbled and have helped the other person to stumble even further. A love action would be opposite of this and would need some sacrifice on one's part. I might be afraid of losing their friendship, so I don't show them their error and am not stringent with them or them with me. But love is to abound in every situation. I praise God that He has given me people from here and other places who do love me and are stringent with me and call me out on my sin. May God bless them and continue to give all of us the desire to love one another with God's love and not our own pitiful "love".


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