John, the writer here, does not mix words. He equates hate to murder. Those are strong words. He says, "Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer..." anyone, no one is exempt from this. If you have hate in you for your brother or sister, mother or father, you are a murderer.
Hate Kills! Love brings life, as we saw yesterday, but hate Kills. In other words, when we hate death is at the door. In this chapter, John reminds us of Cain who hated his brother so much that he murdered him. (1 John 3:12 NIV). Cain killed Abel because Abel was living right; Cain was evil, or hate resided in him and thus, he killed his brother.
There's no way around it, we cannot be like Cain, having hate toward each other, and say that we love because hate kills. Who are we jealous of? Who are we envious of? Who are we comparing ourselves to? Hate leads to murder; it kills. However, love brings life, peace, and hope. We are not children of the world. We are children of God.
Hate Kills! It's a wicked spirit!
The world needs love, which starts with loving God because it is demonstrated in love for each other when we genuinely love God. It's simple: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). Without love, eternal life is not in us. If hate is inside, love has checked out. Eternal life comes from Jesus, and we have eternal life when he lives in us. Let us choose love today over hate and live.
