1 John 2:9 – 11 “If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
When I was growing up, there was a game popular at children’s birthday parties called “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” A large poster bearing the likeness of a donkey would be put on the wall, and then contestants would each be given a paper tail that was to be pinned to the donkey’s rear. The tricky part was that then contestants would be blindfolded and would have to find their way to the poster and then to the correct part of the poster. To make things even more difficult, the one blindfolded might be spun around a few times so that he/she became really disoriented. The one who came the closest would be declared the winner. What seemed so easy in the daylight suddenly became very difficult when one was fumbling in the darkness.
Those who reject moral absolutes are just like someone wearing a blindfold in a game of “Pin the Tale on the Donkey.” And as we saw yesterday, loving God and loving your neighbor are the two foundations on which the rest of the law and the prophets rest. Remember Jesus’ conversation with the scribe recorded in Mark 12:28-34:
“Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him, and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
“But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” Proverbs
14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Notice that you can be walking in the dark without realizing it. In the last of the C.S. Lewis Narnia series, The Last Battle, there is a pathetic little group of dwarves who have become so involved with themselves that when Aslan, the Jesus figure, appears, they don’t even recognize what is happening. All they can do is to keep muttering “the dwarves are for the dwarves.”
Today there are anarchists burning and looting in American cities. These people have destroyed large numbers of homes, businesses, and public buildings. Masquerading as demonstrators, they have frequently destroyed the livelihoods of the very people for whom they claim sympathy. These people are truly caught up in darkness and do not understand the way they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes.
Today, the question each one of us must face is this: do our beliefs meet the test of love? If our beliefs cause us to act in a loving fashion, if we are honoring God by loving those around us, then we are in the light. But if we reject God and fail to love those around us, we are in darkness.
PRAYER: Father God, today we beg you to bring your light and your truth into our lives. Shed light into every dark corner where we have failed to love you and to serve you and where we have failed to love our brothers and sisters. We thank you that you are the true source of holy light and that you will clean us up if only we will ask. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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