Vv 10-11. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
This Fellowship life that John is writing about is built on the foundation stone of love. To be in the light is to be in a loving relationship with other believing people. Where there is no love there is no relationship and no light, only darkness.
This letter from John was probably written between 90 – 100 AD, and many commentators feel that the first flush of enthusiasm for experiencing practical fellowship was beginning to wane. Belonging to ‘The Church’, although it carried the possibility of persecution, was in danger of becoming a second-generation matter, inherited, passed on without the vitality of first-generation believers.
In our world today, with a multitude of possibilities of enjoying both personal and group activities, ‘Church’ is in the market-place, competing for the commitment of adherents or believers. Where faith is genuine, and a Christian grasps the notion of being drawn into fellowship with the Trinity, then that fellowship will also be expressed in fellowship and love for other believers. It is not an option any more than there is an option in the Godhead for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to somehow go off in their own directions!
Today, reflect on what ‘Fellowship’ means to you, and how it affects the whole of your life and activity.