Verse: 1 John 2:7-8
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
Thoughts
What is John talking about here? A new command? An old command? What's going on?
I think the point he is making is that everything he writes in this book has already been said. It is essentially what God revealed to Moses in the ten commandments, and it is a retread of all that Jesus said. In the end it boils down to this:
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
1) Love God with everything. This isn't just thinkig highly of God, or worshiping on Sundays, or thinking that Jesus was a great teacher. This is talking about total and complete devotion and commitment to God and his teachings. Love God not just with your affection, but with all that you are.
2) Love your neighbor as yourself. And of course, Jesus took this to the farthest possible degree saying that our neighbor is really anyone! We are to love even those that are hard for us to love, the same way we want to loved.
Basically John is saying here, listen guys, this is nothing new. The problem is that it's hard to actually live like this. So I'm going to keep telling you. And together we will get closer to who God is calling us to be.
That is my prayer for myself and for you today, that we can all not just know the two greatest commandments, but actually live them in our daily lives.
Prayer
I want to love you and others with complete devotion. Help me to grow in my love.