ANECDOTALLY, John is said to have been the one Apostle to reach old age and die a natural death. John has long been called the Apostle of Love, and often also the Apostle Light. In his gospel, John never refers to himself by name, but significantly as “the disciple that Jesus loved.” (John 13:23) And in that same gospel, John describes Jesus in this way: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4)
Eusebius, the third-century A.D. church historian, attesting to the authenticity of John’s gospel and first letter, names him in terms of love and light. As both a biblical and historical figure, in this first letter John writes with the depth of reflection and measured pace of one who has lived long and given intentional thought to the events of his life and what he has learned from them. Like many of the old, from the weight of his past, during the time left to him, his desire is to leave a legacy of useful wisdom, something to help guide those whose future lies mostly in front of them on the pathway of life.
Tenderly then, John begins with, “My dear children,” and then says what he believes to be exceptionally important, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” (1 John 2:1) His didactic motive is not just precluded by grace, but is thoroughly permeated by mercy. He quickly removes any perceived sting of rebuke. “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2-3) By including ‘the whole world,’ he includes you and me, and we become heirs of this legacy, in which he shares with us his testimony about and the promises of “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:2) From out of his own life experiences, John invites us into a unique vicarious sense of the reality of what it means to be with Jesus. His counsel comes softly and reassuringly, and is received not so much in the sense of ‘do as I have done,’ but, ‘live as I have lived.’ We appreciate the value of his wisdom, because the authenticity of his expression carries the reality of having been in the presence of the Lord—which is something we have experienced in some small measure ourselves, and which we find powerfully attractional. He speaks truth to our most important inner questions and convictions.
One of those convictions is that Jesus is not just Savior, but also Lord. John reminds us, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:5b-6) As he does so, we remember that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) Another conviction we have is that God’s truths are eternal, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8) And John reminds us of this, saying, “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.” (1 John 2:7) We understand what John means by this. He was there when Jesus was engaged by the scribe, and responded to his question, ‘what is the greatest command?’ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37) But then Jesus added something deeper, and profoundly more difficult. “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:38-39)
From this background, in which he was present, John is able to tell us, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” (1 John 2:10) But here, he gives us no answer to the question that arises within us. How do we do that? How do we ‘love our brother?’ Loving God seems much easier to us than loving someone else. God is sovereign and perfect, loving and merciful—there is nothing in the relationship with him to argue about, and we accept that any strains are due to our own imperfections. But our ‘ brothers’ —this is different; those relationships have had a history of too much emotional pain. Oftentimes the best we seem to be able to do is forgive them from a safe distance, and have nothing to do with them. We know such an attitude is wrong, and seek a ‘doable’ solution. And we search the scriptures, looking for a truth that will answer, a truth that satisfies, a truth that works.
In Jesus, that answer is made clear. And it is John that records the answer. “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:12-17) Jesus did indeed lay down his life. And so we learn that love has a cost. Its cost is the denial of self.
Father, we pray you give us the strength to be weak in our will towards self- fulfillment. May we “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than (our)selves.” (Phil. 2:3) Guide us in this, Father: “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. ” (Prov. 22:4) Remind us always to “Humble ourselves before the Lord,” knowing that “he will lift us up.” (Jam. 4:10)
Q. How deep are my Christian family bonds?
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