The Law of Love

If we hate our brother we walk in darkness.   Walking in darkness implies a few things:  we aren’t walking in light, we are groping around to find our way, and we are in fact stumbling as we go.  The passage of scripture in 1 John 2:9-11 tells us these things.  But if we ‘walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another’.      Having fellowship with one another is connected with walking in light (or walking in truth).  In true fellowship, love for one another must be a prerequisite.   Hatred, or even indifference, toward one another does not constitute genuine meaningful fellowship. Fellowship – and anything else but love – would be a contradiction in the life of a Christian.  And not only that, it would be a grievous sin against another man and the God that created that other man.

Christ’s law of love as we read in Luke 10:27 states that ‘you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind’.   But it doesn’t stop there, it goes on to address our relationship to others when it says, ‘and your neighbor as yourself’.    Who is our neighbor and who is our brother?  The Bible gives no narrow definition of these terms.   There is no indication that the neighbor or the brother is simply the one who lives nearby or the one who shares the same parents.  No, it is much broader than this.   Ask the man who famously became known as the Good Samaritan who his neighbor was.  He didn’t even know the person he encountered but yet came to his aid, not only disrupting his own plans, but also sacrificing his resources to make sure the injured was well taken care of.

The Holy Spirit  has furnished the Christian with the ability to love.   If the true believer is going to love God like he is commanded, then he has a responsibility to cultivate his love toward others. There are no excuses.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Last weekend we turned the clocks back an hour.  Some people get excited because of the extra hour of sleep.  I never quite figured out the excitement.  If I want an extra hour of sleep, I just go to bed an hour earlier.   But that excitement over the hour of sleep soon turns into depression and anxiety for some.  

In Western Pennsylvania at this time of year, we wake up when it's dark, we drive to work in the dark, then we come home in the late afternoon - and its dark!   I often jokingly call November through February the 'dark ages'.   But for some people this is no joke.  I read online about the depression and anxiety that people suffer at this time of year.  There is a term used for this called 'seasonal affective disorder'.   The claim in a nutshell is that people are lacking basic sunlight.   People's biological clocks may be disrupted by the shortened days and even some hormone levels are out of whack due to the seasonal changes.   There are companies out there that manufacture special lights that simulate the rays that come from the sun and they effectively market these expensive gadgets to people who hope their disorder will be cured.

I am no doctor and I am not doubting that there may be some valid science behind this 'condition'.  And my heart goes out to those suffering from depression.  Who of us hasn't suffered from some level of the blues?  But, I'd be willing to bet that in many cases, it's not so much the lack of SUN light that is the cause of depression as it is the lack of SON light.  If you'll pardon the play on words for a moment and go to the scriptures:   John 8:12 - "I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life".  Could depression be classified as walking in darkness?  Following Christ is walking in the light.

And again, in 1 John 1:7 - "If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin".   How is that for our much needed Son light?  These are quite encouraging verses from God's Word, and there are many more like these if we search through the scriptures.

When we're looking for a cure for 'cabin fever' or being 'down in the dumps', instead of shopping for an expensive contraption to begin our light therapy or getting a prescription for an anti-depressant, may we first go to the Son?  May we go to His Word first?   I have tried counting my blessings when I get the blues... it should make sense to the Christian that if we are busy counting our blessings, we won't have time to be depressed.    As a good friend of mine often says, "we're too blessed to be depressed".