Loving Your Brother
All those who call themselves a Christian is our brother or sister. John was very clear that loving your brother is required. If you don’t then you are still in darkness.
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.” 1 John 2:9-10 NIV
Lost and Confused
Anyone who is acting like a Christian but harboring ill will against another Christian is confused. In reality, they are only fooling themselves. Hatred blinds and causes a dark cloud to descend on the person. It causes us to stumble around lost and confused. We think we are walking in the light but the path behind them tells a different story. Many Christians are lost and confused because of the hatred they hold in their heart towards another brother or sister in Christ.
Lifting the Darkness
To have the darkness lifted takes one thing, forgiveness. We must forgive the brother or sister that we hate. No matter what wrong they have done to us. Light brings new life while darkness brings death. If we continue to hold on to the hurt and pain, refusing to forgive, we will spiral farther and farther into bitterness and darkness. Releasing that bitterness takes a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must get right with God by repenting of our sins of hatred and malice (that’s talking bad about the person). Then we need to tell God and, if possible, the person we forgive them. That will take us from the darkness into the light. Remember that forgiveness means forgetting the offense and releasing the right to never bring it up again. This will begin the path to you loving your brother once again.