Living in the Light - Part 2

Love Others - 1 John 2:9-11

9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 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.

Not only is it important to refrain from sinning in our lives, but we must also effect the lives of those around us. It is great that we get closer to God with our own personal life, but the problem becomes that we sometimes focus too much on ourselves and not enough on others.

One problem that we must stay away from is becoming too self-centered. First off, this will draw us further away from God instead of closer to Him. But also, it will push others away from God as well. They will see us as having a "holier than thou" attitude and will draw away from us. So we must show them God's love through our lives.

This is really a simple concept, but it is one that we seem to forget. Jesus gave us the greatest commandment(s) in Mark 12. He first commanded us to love God, but then He told us to love our neighbors as well. We will talk about loving God next time, but for right now focus on thinking about how you treat those around you.

Here are some practical ideas. When you are at your job, how do you treat your coworkers? Do you go beyond your duties to help them? What about the strangers you randomly meet everyday? Can they tell that you stand for God? Every aspect of our life should reflect that we stand for God, and that includes the idea that others can see that in us.

So please see how these connect. It is very important to refrain from sin, but we must also love those around us and show them God's love as well. Next time we will look at loving God.

Matt