THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
by Given O. Blakely
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                   LOVING THE CHILDREN OF GOD
                                Daily Thought #2
                    THE LOVE OF THE BRETHREN IS EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE
     If the people of God can see what great things have occurred in them, they will throw off the
shackles of sectarianism. A factious spirit and failure to love the brethren is evidence of an unsure
heart. The individual that looks closely at his brother to find a flaw, only does so because he has not
looked at himself. For this reason, loving the brethren becomes evidence of spiritual life.
           Knowing we have passed from death to life
     Passing from death to life is everything. It is being born again. It is being delivered from the
power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col 1:13). Jesus spoke of this
experience in arresting words. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Him that sent Me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life"
(John 5:24). "Life," in this case, is "everlasting life." Passing from death is exclusion from
condemnation. It is not possible to be more blessed!
     How can we know we have passed from death into life; from a state of condemnation into
everlasting life? Are we confined to supposition and guesswork? You would think so to hear most
professed believers talk on the subject. Rare, indeed, is the individual that is confident they have
everlasting life.
     Hear the word of God, and rejoice in it. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We
know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren . . . " (1 John 3:13-14).
When we pass from death, we come into conflict with the world. It no longer loves us because we
do not belong to that order. We are now suited for heavenly places, accepted by God, and therefore
rejected by the realm of darkness. When the world disdains us, preferring its own, we do not wonder.
However, there is a society to which we are attracted--the brethren of Christ. They are our kind. They
love the things we love, and are journeying to the city that has captured our attention. We do not love
them because of their individual attainment, but because of their natures, preferences, and faith.
     Our love of the brethren proves we have passed from death to life. It proves our condition
to us! The confirmation is incontestable, because loving the brethren of Christ is not possible unless
you are in Christ. The chasm between the children of God and the children of the wicked one is
wide. That wideness does not allow affinity with the children of God unless you have crossed the
chasm to occupy everlasting realms. If you love the brethren, you are alive to God!
                      Abiding in the light
     To abide in the light is to walk in God's favor. It is to maintain spiritual perspective, and be
in harmony with the mind of the Lord. It is walking by faith, and walking in the spirit. We walk in
the light when we are dominated by the consideration of heavenly things. 
     John gets to the point in his comments on love. "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth
his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there
is none occasion of stumbling in him. 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
2:9-11). John concludes that loving Christ's brothers confirms we are abiding on the light. That is
the light of God's glory as seen in the face of Christ Jesus (2 Cor 4:6). It is seeing God as He is,
finding it refreshing, and maintaining the vision. Those that sustain the vision love others who do
the same.
     We can learn to reason from effect to cause, as well as cause to effect. In the case of the latter
(cause to effect), those that abide in the light of God's glory WILL love the brethren. In the former
(effect to cause), those that are loving the brethren have, in that very love, proof that they ARE
walking in the light. Suffice it to say, you cannot have the effect without the cause, whatever the
level of discipline effort required. The person that does not love his brother is abiding in spiritual
darkness: that is why he does not love his brother.
                      The knowledge of God
     The knowledge of God is unique to those that are in Christ Jesus. An intimacy with
(knowledge of) God is enjoyed by "the elect" that cannot be known by any one else. This is
especially important because of the tendency of people to identify themselves with God, though
living in contradiction of Him. Forthrightly, John wrote, "He that loveth not knoweth not God: for
God is love" (1 John 4:8).
     There are several things to be seen here. First, God Himself is the essence of love; i.e., He
is the embodiment of love. Love is properly defined in the Person of God, not in the lexicons of men.
The full definition of love is found in God. Love gives like God, acts like God, and reacts like God.
God is love! There is nothing about love that is not found in Him, and there is nothing about Him
that is not related to love. God is love.
     Second, you cannot dwell with God without becoming like Him. In salvation, we are
transformed by the Spirit into the divine image. As it is written, "But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor 3:18). This transformation is evidenced in the love of and
preference for all that are "joined to the Lord." There are no exceptions to the rule, and therefore no
explanations for failure to love the brethren are required. John simply says that the one that does not
love does not know God. That is why he does not love those loved by the Lord.
     You can also reason another way. If I do love the brethren, then I do so because I know God.
It is my involvement with Him by faith, in Christ, and through the Spirit, which has enabled me to
love them. There is great comfort to be had in recognizing this situation.
(More on this subject tomorrow)
In joyful expectation of glory,
Given O. Blakely