"He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."
1 John 2:10
“He that loveth his brother abideth in the light.”
It is crucial that God’s child lives in the light. This “abiding” means that the believer knows the Lord and is living life as a child of God. For the new believer, this is not a temporary change. It is ongoing. Home is now the light. It also means that this child is striving to live as his Lord lived.
“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6).
And note the correlation between abiding in the light and loving his brother. It is the person who is not abiding in the light that is hating his brother.
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now” (1 John 2:9).
“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11).
Those who hate the brethren are still in the dark. They do not yet know the Lord. And it is the one who knows the Lord, and his remaining with Jesus, who is the loving one.
“Sometimes it is easy to think, ‘Following Jesus would be easy if it weren’t for all the Christians.’ And many, many Christians live as the walking wounded, crippled by the scars other Christians have inflicted on them. Yet this measure still stands. If we can’t love each other, then we have no way to claim a real love for God. Our relationship with God can be measured by our love for other Christians”[1] (Guzik).
“And there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”
The loving brother who is living in the light is not putting stumbling blocks in front of others to trip them up.
“Stumbling-block or offence [sic.] is sometimes what makes others to fall either intentionally or innocently or in-advertently.” [2]
The true believers’ love for the Lord works in two ways. It prevents him/her from being offensive to others. And it also stops him/her from being offended by others. The Christian lives a very balanced life because of the Lord’s love and grace. By walking in the light, he/she can see stumbling blocks in the way and avoid them. Being in the light keeps the path well lit.
“Many fall into sin because they do not see the snares that are in the way; and they do not see the snares because they either have not received, or do not abide in, the light” [3] (Clarke).
Brothers and sisters, let’s show this lost world what it means to live in the light, by the way we love and care for each other. All glory to God.
[1] Guzik, David. David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Popular New Testament, A Popular Commentary on the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.