1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Does this sound extreme or overreaching? I don’t normally equate hate with murder in my mind. I’ve said I hate things before, so this verse might be a bit of a rebuke. Even though I may not equate hate and murder, the Bible consistently does so. The prime example of this is Matthew 5:21-22 where Jesus teaches this very point. Jesus teaches that anger, insults, and slander are judged as murder. In the midst of a passage calling us to love our brothers, why does John mention this? In part, it is a warning. This passage has been teaching that we are to love our brothers and that the world will hate us for it. When we are hated, it is so easy to return that hatred with hatred. When I am yelled at, spoken against or belittled my view of the person doing that drops and I distance myself from them. Hatred is not far behind. This is the danger being warned against. Again, Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 5 when He said:
Matthew 5:43-48 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
How can we do this? How can we be perfect? It is only by God’s grace and the work of Jesus. I can not obey this on my own, but Jesus obeyed it perfectly for me. I have His righteousness given as my perfection and the Holy Spirit working in me. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in me that helps me obey the command to love my brother. That is how I am able to have eternal life, through the gift of God in Christ. So how am I remaining in Christ? How am I doing at loving my brother? Is there someone in my life that drives me crazy? How can I apply these verses as I interact with people that I find challenging?
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