Whoever loves his brother

In 1 John 2:10, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light,” which fits in perfectly with verse 5, that “God’s love is truly being made complete in us” – because the proof of his love growing in us is the startling ability we now have to love each other, no matter how imperfect or different from each other we are.

And it really is startling too, because with God’s love, verse 10, “there is no cause for stumbling in it.” The Greek for “cause for stumbling” is skandelon, meaning an object in the path that could cause a stumble or trip, like a rock, or a slip on ice. Put in the context of love for a fellow human, and it takes on a very special meaning, that there’s nothing in us that would cause a brother to trip, or slip, and fall. 

In other words, God’s love removes all hindrances and pitfalls in our relationships with others. There’s nothing in us that would even think of causing another person to trip and fall. That’s the light of God’s love that we walk in, where we’re so sure footed in our love for others that we get really good at avoiding situations that could cause hurt. And love does that, it sharpens our senses to possible pitfalls and awkward situations.   

And in this world that’s an amazing gift to have, because as John goes on to say in verse 11, “whoever hates his brother is stumbling around in the darkness, with no clue where he’s going because the darkness has blinded him.” All around us, then, are people we’re in contact with who stumble and fall very easily, where situations constantly arise that make them feel angry, offended, anxious, frustrated, jealous, bitter and hateful, causing many a hurt relationship, and lasting damage to their own state of mind too, especially when hounded by grievances that never heal. 

There are two opposite states of mind, then, and John makes it clear in these two verses that when it comes to relationships with our fellow humans we’re either walking in the light or in the darkness. It’s either love or hate. And with God’s love there’s no room for hate, because it not only causes others to stumble, it messes up our own minds too.

And “the truth of this” is now being made plain for all to see, because, verse 8, when God’s love is in us, it can be seen that “the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” And that’s the gift for others that we carry with us wherever we go. Which is kept alive in our minds by “Remembering who we are”….(next blog)