I AM WRITING TO SAY…

OPENING PRAYER:

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9).

READ: 1 John 2:1–14

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b] is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 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.

Reasons for Writing

I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

REFLECT:

Does the light of Christ shine through you?

“Lord, the light of your love is shining” (Graham Kendrick, “Lord, the light of your love (Shine, Jesus, Shine),” 1987). This is what John is wanting for his readers. Loving God, who is light, means keeping His commands, which means loving our Christian sisters and brothers. Encouragingly, if our way of life is following God’s commands and loving His people, we can be assured (“know,” 3,5) that we are His.

Nine times in these fourteen verses John says why he is writing. He speaks of the “true light shining” and living in the light as we love others (8,10). This is not theory. It is about our real day-to-day lives. Just as we might say “the whole room lights up!” to describe the warmth or humor a guest brings to a gathering, John expects his readers to experience the light of Christ as they keep His commands and care for each other.

John intends his words to apply to the whole range of his readers (12–14): the penitent, marveling at being children of God and forgiven; the mature older believers who have known God through many aspects of life; and those in their prime, taking on challenges for Christ, and winning.

APPLY:

Every chapter of this letter mentions Christ’s death for us (2). How can the central matters of the Bible become more central in our lives? Do you need to get your focus back onto Jesus and His salvation?

CLOSING PRAYER:

Christ, I want Your light to shine upon me and within me and through me to those around me. Be my light today

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