Reflections with Andy - 1 John 2: 7-17 – Love is the Fruit

In this Thursday reflection on 1 John 2:7–17, John’s “old-but-new” commandment turns out to be exactly what we talked about yesterday: love. And love, John argues, is the most reliable marker of whether we’re actually walking in the light — because you can’t claim to be in the light while hating your brother or sister. Actions don’t save us, but they do reveal us, the way fruit reveals what kind of tree you’re dealing with. Drawing on Matthew 25, Tertullian, and the witness of the early church, the reflection makes the case that love for one another — across doctrinal lines, across differences, within the whole household of faith — is the thing that should make the watching world stop and take notice. Then John flips the contrast: don’t love the things of the world — wealth, status, the approval of others, the endless desire for more — because all of it is passing away. What’s eternal is love: love of Jesus, love of neighbor, love that is God’s own perfect love shed in our hearts. That’s the mark. That’s what lasts.

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Good morning! Great to be with you on this Thursday as we continue through First John. Today we’re reading chapter 2, verses 7 through 17:

“Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world — the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches — comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.”

So John opens with something a little paradoxical — I’m not writing you a new commandment, but I am writing you a new commandment. What does he mean? He’s reminding them of what they already know. The old commandment, the word they’ve had from the beginning — and then he says it’s also new, because it’s alive and active in the light that is already shining. He’s not introducing something foreign. He’s calling them back to the center.

And the center, as we talked about yesterday, is love. That’s the commandment. And here’s how John tests whether we’re actually living in it.

Remember the light-and-darkness language we’ve been tracking all through First John — and before that, all through the Gospel of John? John brings it forward again here: whoever says “I am in the light” while hating a brother or sister is still in the darkness. That’s a pretty direct diagnostic. And I think it’s one worth sitting with, because we all wonder sometimes — how do I know? How do I actually know that I’m in the light, that I’m really walking with the Lord?

Paul writes in Romans that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And I do believe that — the witness of the Holy Spirit is real, and when you’re in Scripture, when you’re in worship, when you’re genuinely seeking him, you know. But John gives us another marker here: look at how you love. We’re not saved by our actions — our actions don’t save us — but they do show us something. Fruit shows us what kind of tree we’re dealing with. An apple tree produces apples. A peach tree produces peaches. Children of God should be producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. That’s the fruit of the Spirit. And if we say we’re in the light but we hate our brothers and sisters — our fellow believers — John says plainly: we’re walking in the darkness.

Matthew 25 is a passage that never leaves me alone. The sheep and the goats. The goats say Lord, Lord, when did we see you? And Jesus makes it clear — not everyone who says Lord, Lord. How we treat people, especially the least, especially the vulnerable, shows something true about where we actually are.

Tertullian, that great early church father, wrote about how the watching world marveled at Christians: “See how they love one another.” That was the witness. That was what drew people in. Because people are longing to be loved. People are longing to know they have worth and value and that they matter. Everyone who sat with Jesus, everyone who encountered him, felt that. They felt his love. They felt like they mattered. We should make people feel that way — and especially, especially, within the household of faith.

Now, I’m a Methodist. I’m a Wesleyan. I’ve tested my doctrine, I believe it, I stand by it — when I was ordained they asked me if I had examined it and found it biblical, and I had and I do. But my Catholic friends, my Baptist friends, my Pentecostal and Presbyterian friends — we don’t agree on everything. We’re not going to. But we are on the same team. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And I may not always agree with my brothers and sisters, but I am always going to love them. That’s not optional.

Then John pivots — from love of the brothers and sisters to the contrast: do not love the world or the things of the world.The desire of the flesh. The desire of the eyes. The pride of riches. Wealth. Status. Popularity. The approval of our peers. And I want to say something about that last one — peer pressure doesn’t stop when you turn 21. It really doesn’t. The need for approval, the pull of what others think of us, follows us all the way through life. We scroll for likes. We angle for status. We chase the next thing that we think will finally make us feel like enough.

And John says: all of it is passing away. Your possessions, your wealth, your status — it all fades. What remains? The love of Jesus. The love we have for each other. The love we have for our brothers and sisters, and yes, even for our enemies. That’s what lasts. That’s what’s eternal.

So there’s the word for today: love is the fruit, love is the mark, love is how we know. Let God’s love flow through you — toward your fellow believers, toward the world, toward everyone. And be careful with the desires of this world, because they will consume you if you let them. They fade. Jesus doesn’t.

Tomorrow we’ll finish up chapter 2. Have a great day!