1 John 2:7-10

"The darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Whoever loves their neighbor remains in the light."

The author of this letter says he is reaffirming an old commandment, but it is also new because "the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." The light of Christ, the letter assets, helps us love our neighbor. And if we do not love our neighbor, we will find that we have moved out of the light of Christ and into the darkness.

This is true whether or not we remain in the church. Attending worship and reading the Bible is not a guarantee that we will remain in the light of Christ. We must also love our neighbor. But this, we all know, is easy to say and hard to do. It is hard to love the neighbor who is unkind to us or who takes unfair advantage of our kindness. It is hard to remain in the light of Christ, even once we have known it.

Grace and peace...Bob