October 26 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

God protects people against people in this commandment. In the negative form God says, "You shall not murder." In the positive form he says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

This commandment is rooted in creation. People belong to God because God made them. That's the basis of human dignity (a much-abused phrase). No matter who people are, what they look like, how they behave, what color they are, what houses they live in, or what positions they hold, they are imagebearers of God. Therefore they stand under God's protection.

God protects people not only because he made them but also because he loves them. The devil is a murderer from the beginning, but God loves people. Therefore, says the Bible, a person who hates his brother or sister can never be a child of God but is a child of the devil.

What God demands in the law he gives in the gospel by teaching his people how to form a fellowship. The cement of the fellowship is love. And the community of those who love one another is the restored life—the positive fulfillment of this commandment.

In the Bible, "life" is much more than breathing, and murder is more than cutting a throat. Living means having fellowship with God and with people. Without it, we have no life. All forms of hatred and envy are the seeds of murder. They disrupt the fellowship and they are sown by the devil. Love is what keeps communion and makes fellowship possible; hatred is the opposite of love. Love comes from God; hatred is from the devil. When the final community is revealed as the city of God (Rev. 22:15), the murderers are outside.

God created people to form a community—not to stand over against each other but to be neighbors (people who are "nigh" or "next" to each other). To that end God does not only threaten those who take up the sword but even allowed his own Son to be killed. God did this to teach all of us how much he loves us.

Now we must listen to the story of the good Samaritan, which Jesus concludes with the words, "Go and do likewise."

REFLECTIONS

This commandment is about hatred and love. How does it relate to your day-to-day life?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.