Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
(1 John 2:7-8, NASB)
John’s readers would have been very familiar with God’s commandments: to love Him (commandments 1-4) and to love others (commandments 5-10). (See Deut. 5:7-21.) So he first reminded them of that very fact. The “word which you have heard” would have been embedded in their hearts.
Yet John was also “writing a new commandment.” Before Christ’s first visit to earth, the people of Israel were to follow a laundry list of cleansing and purification rituals. Law upon law. And for them, atonement came through an annual sacrifice of a spotless lamb.
Now, however, atonement comes through the spilled blood of Jesus Christ. This “new commandment” said to abide in the light—the true light—of the Savior. Accept His gift of forgiveness and salvation. Joyfully live in relationship with him.
And one last promise in today’s verses: “the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.” Yes, this world seems to be very dark—and getting darker. However, Jesus’ light is already shining through those who really, truly follow Him.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may remember the time we spent in Philippians. Remember how Paul describes true followers? To paraphrase: We are light in a dark, perverted, corrupt world.
Shine the light of Jesus today. Be Him to someone.
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