Abiding in Christ - Philadelphia

1 John 2:10 (NKJV) - "He who loves his brother abides in the light...."

We are continuing in the study of what Abiding in Christ means, we have come to the understanding that abiding in Christ means that a person walks and is in fellowship with Him. We already noted the words of the prophet Amos - "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we are in fellowship with God, we are walking with Christ in an intimate and continual way. To abide in Christ, loves his brother.

We have considered that abiding in Christ requires us to love others. John in this verse brings it down a little more specifically for us to think about. We have to love our fellow believers. I had a co-worker years ago who took pleasure in hassling me in a friendly way. He was a fellow believer and would do things to try to get my goat. He would do something, and then he would look at me and smile - and he would then say - "You gotta love me."

I don't think John was saying that we have the rights to torment fellow believers and then remind them they have to love us. In fact, the mark of Christianity is what Jesus said - "If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples." John 13:35 (CEV). Maybe one of the reasons that people don't see us as having something they want because we spend so much time being unloving to other fellow believers.

Today, stop and ponder how you can love that unlovable brother or sister in Christ. How can you obey Christ, how can you open up your abiding in Christ, how can you entice others to want what you have? Try loving the fellow believers unconditionally.