¹³Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. ¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

John’s teaching is startling in its extreme view of spiritual attitudes. He writes of love on the one hand, and hate and murder on the other, with no in-between. He presents the ultimate issues in terms of life and death. In doing this, he reprises the teachings of Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount, who put it this way:

“I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matt 5:22)

The apostle Paul’s teaching coalesces as well when he teaches that without love, “I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1–3).

Love as the operating principle of life is entirely out of step with the world, to the point that the world “hates” those who live by it. The darkness hates the light because the light (as seen in the “love-styled” life of Christians) brings unbelievers face to face with their darkness, their self-centered lives (John 3:19–20). Light exposes; no surprise there. Love exposes hate by the contrast. And when an unbeliever’s selfishness is exposed, the reaction is to turn out the light. Persecution is one attempt, but criticism, discrimination, and mocking are other forms of hate.

We see the irony in the present-day misappropriation of the word “hate” to describe anyone who disagrees with the world’s view of inclusiveness that demands Christians accept the darkness that it loves. Yet Christians are no longer living in darkness, and the evidence is their now-instinctive desire and practice of loving one another and loving the world as God loves it, not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16).  So John continues to remind his believing readers (“brethren”) to make love their top priority.

When love is not the priority in a person’s life, then death follows. If that person is an unbeliever, that means spiritual death—eternal separation from God. For believers, the prospect of a loveless life entails a spiritual emptiness. This should make all who read this take stock of their claim to faith.

PRAYER: Lord, You have loved me with an everlasting love; help me love my fellow believers in the same way—not to gain Your love, but because of Your love.