Trying to Love a Brother

Scripture: This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister. 1 John 3:10

Observation: John writes in very strong terms about the idea of sin vs. righteousness. His strong message is that true believers cannot sin because the Holy Spirit is inside them, therefore anyone who sins is not 'of God' ... cannot be a true believer. This is certainly hyperbole, as if such were true then continued forgiveness of sin would be unnecessary for believers. John is making a point that believers should be very actively striving to control their sin and live as Jesus has taught, seeking the power of the Holy Spirit to aid them in this. This is not dissimilar to the Jews, for whom laws associated with "ceremonial cleanliness" required them to think about even small actions and to self-reflect on their behavior.

John summarizes the failure to do right as "especially" involving failure to love one's brother or sister; that is, failure to love other believers. That behavior is absolutely "not of God".

Application: Last night, we had a prayer meeting at church. A certain man said he had a word and was invited to speak. This is a man I struggle to respect. I am certain he believes in Jesus, but I find his actions self-aggrandizing. For this, I regularly disregard what he thinks. Last night, I actively tune out the brief 'word' he had to declare.

I fail to love this brother. That has nothing to do with him, but is my failure, my shortcoming ... my given evidence that I am "not of God". If that man does act out of self-promotion, that is his issue. If I believe that is what he does, attributing false motives to him, and dislike him for it, that is my issue. It demonstrates a flaw in my relationship with the Lord. The only exception would be is if this man actually is not a believer and is a false agent of satan, and I absolutely do NOT think that at all, not for one second.

I try to love my brothers and sisters. I often fail. However, my heart is improving in this matter, as I often see others out of gladness and joy even when they bother my earthly sensibilities. That said, I can and must do better at softening my heart, through the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, please forgive my dislike toward my brother, and toward all my brothers and sisters. I love your church, and thus it is only logical that I love your people that comprise the church. I ask that my heart be softened, and my eyes widened, to embrace your love within me and have it flow out. Amen.