An Old Message Oft Forgotten (1 John 3:11-12)
“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.” (1 John 3:11-12)
Some things bear repeating because the simplest message is quickly forgotten. From the very beginning, the Law of God was written on the heart of Adam. Adam was to love the Lord with all his heart, mind, soul and strength; and his neighbor as himself. Yet as Adam’s teeth plunged deep into that ripe fruit, he cast a hateful ire at all his progeny as he plunged them into an estate of sin and misery. Adam quickly forgot the message. In the same way, Cain knew the message to love God and neighbor; yet how miserably he failed in both! As Cain gnashed his teeth against Abel, he laid a hateful blow against his brother. Cain quickly forgot the message. Like older men over coffee, we could share story after story of all the times mankind has forgotten that same message. The entirety of the Old Testament law can be summed up into these two points of loving God and neighbor, and God oft repeats it because we oft forget.
How can man remember this message? How can man conquer the tyranny of self? If we are to remember the message heard from the beginning, we would do best to remember Christ. Upon that cross we see the message heard from the beginning enfleshed. It was He who loved us, even to his own hurt. All of his righteousness was for our inheritance; all of his suffering for our joy. Every glance to the Cross of Christ reminds us of both the love which freed us from the tyranny of self and the love which provided the model for our love to one another. From Calvary, he exhibited love toward us and provided an example of love for one another. O, shriveled soul, if we would but toss away our broken cisterns and drink deeply from the sweet, sweet love of Jesus. If we would but exchange the shackles of self for the freedom of being loved and loving in the name of Christ Jesus. If we would but have his cross before our eyes, the old message would not oft be forgotten.
