1 John 2:11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
Blinding Darkness. This just doesn’t work, does it? Light blinds, not darkness. Light penetrates darkness. Light dissipates darkness. Light makes darkness go away, at least as long as the light stays present. This is the nature of light and darkness.
But our text tells us that darkness can blind. I love this. The writer throws our thinking a curve ball. We think we know what he is discussing, and then here it comes: darkness has blinded them. This metaphor of light and darkness is one of John’s favorite images of the spiritual battle that rages.
The author’s premise is that there are two forces at work in the world. The one emanates from God and is the ultimate victor. The other contains everything and everyone who opposes God’s rule in the universe and in their lives. Sounds like the theme for a sci-fi trilogy, doesn’t it!
But this isn’t equal forces coming toward each other. There is only one source of power, and that is God’s power. All other powers are derivative. They have no inherent power. They use the power delegated to them to work at cross-purposes to the original intent of the delegated power.
People use the power of love and the withholding of that love for their own purposes, both good and not so good. Parents sometimes withhold love to a child in order to get them to behave. (Not the best parenting strategy, by the way.) Spouses sometimes withhold love as a way to punish their spouse. They withdraw, draw back, are silent.
For John, the author of our letter, hatred is connected to darkness. Specifically, non-love toward you fellow believers in Christ. There is no place in Christ’s body for selective love. We are commanded to love each other. We might not like some members, but we must love them despite our dislike.
Part of what darkness means in this context is self-delusion. We think we are in the right in the way we treat other believers, but instead we are exhibiting a very different nature, one of sin and selfishness. And when we live selfishly, we are not demonstrating the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the power that changes us into His likeness.
As humans we have an immense capacity to deceive ourselves. We can talk ourselves into almost anything! I have seen it over the years of ministry. People have come to me with all sorts of stories justifying everything from adultery to divorce. “God wants me to be happy, doesn’t He?”
This kind of darkness does blind us. We want what we want, and there is no stopping us. This is darkness. This is blindness. This is death.
Jesus loved everyone, even Judas who would betray Him. Though Judas walked in darkness and was blinded by that darkness, Jesus’ light still shown through. Jesus loves no matter what. He might desire a different path for us than the one we are on, but He still loves us. That is because He is light personified.
What about us? Are we living in darkness or light?
The Arnold Journey 