Living in the light of who God knows and has crafted us to be and become happens when our hearts are calibrated to His heart for us and for His world. The truth that we are created to desire what God desires, and so we are to learn to seek His desire (will) above all else, is nothing new. Still, as John, the beloved friend and follower of Jesus, said, there is something new happening because of Jesus.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning…At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in Jesus and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:7-8)
Already, the darkness that keeps God’s intimately crafted knowledge of us is fading as the true light of what God desires for us and through us is shining in the world. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), as the apostle Paul put it, adds a new dimension to the old command, for “it is God who is at work within us both to desire and to work for what He desires” (Phil. 2:13). But, John says, there is a way that we remain blinded by the fading dark: when our hearts are against one whose God’s heart is for.
…because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But 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. (1 John 2:8b-11)
What often keeps us from living in the light of who we are, is not a heart that doesn’t desire what God desires, but a heart that, as the “old commandment” forbade, hangs onto a grudge rather than loving a neighbor (see Leviticus 19:17-18). So, this week faith family, let us join together in asking God to know our hearts toward those in our lives, and lead us in the clarity of His love for them.
Father, we come to You because our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, and we are called Your children because of His love for us.
Father, we come to You because we desire what You desire and want nothing more than to live the fullness of Your life in us.
Father, search us and know our hearts. Show us if there is any violence or animosity, any bitterness or apathy towards those in our lives (even the ones we fail to see).
Father, create in us pure hearts, and let the love of Jesus lead us to see clearly the way before us.
Because Jesus lives and is pressing back the darkness already, we pray. Amen.