John 16:1 "These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.”
One of the ways we know what Jesus meant is by looking to see how the disciples took what He said. We are able to do that in this case because the author of John commented on it in his first epistle. In 1John 2:10 he wrote, “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” To what is Jesus referring when He said, “these things”? John narrowed it down to the new commandment. The one who loves his brother, (shall I be so bold as to say it in these words?) who lives to love with Jesus, is walking in the light. That light keeps him from stumbling just as walking in the bright daylight keeps you from stumbling over something. You don’t usually stumble over things in the daylight, do you? Why? Because you can see where you are going. You can see what’s in your path. So it is when you live to love with Jesus. You know where you are going. You’re on your way to love the next person God puts in your path. And when they appear, you won’t stumble over them because you are there to love them, rather than be loved by them. When we live for ourselves, there is great cause for stumbling. We live in a fallen world, and everyone who shows up in our path is fallen. More than likely they are not going to think about our highest good no matter what the cost. So what happens to the person who isn’t living to love with Jesus, to the one who is living to get his or her agenda done or to be happy and comfortable, or to gain significance in this world? They will not walk in love, but will stumble and react, usually in hurtful, unloving ways. Knowing they were to love one another through the life of the indwelling Christ, would keep them from stumbling. Whenever you stumble in a relationship, you can be assured, you have forgotten that your purpose in life is to walk in Jesus’ light and live to love with Him.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
