LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
 
Sunday 15th February 2026

NO MORE HATRED

Scripture Reading: 1 John 2
 
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. *1 John 2:1*
 
Hatred blinds our eyes. It blinds us to all the good things that the Lord has surrounded us with. If a Christian walks in the light and is in fellowship with God, he will also be in fellowship with others in God’s family. Love and light go together, much as hatred and darkness go together.
 
This is one reason why Christ established the local church.  He established it so that those who believe in Him would share fellowship with other believers. You cannot travel the Christian journey alone. The Christian life is lived in community. We cannot live a complete and developing Christian life unless we are in fellowship with God’s people.
 
The Christian life has two relationships: the vertical (Godward) and the horizontal (manward). These two relationships cannot be separated. We cannot be in fellowship with God and out of fellowship with His children.
 
Going to church gives us the opportunity to practice Christ’s commandment for us to love and walk in the light. We go to church so that we can physically fellowship with the spiritual body of Christ.
 
It is easy to practice a Christianity of “words”—singing the right songs, using the right vocabulary, praying the right prayer. However, our Lord wants us to do more than that. He was us to also practice a Christianity of ‘acts’ – being, kind, generous and sharing what we have with others.
 
When we fail to walk in love, we allow the enemy to blind our eyes to all the marvelous things that the Lord has for us. We fail to see His goodness and love. Let us allow the love of God to open our eyes to the riches of our inheritance in Christ Jesus.
 
Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for making me a part of your church. Help me to love the brethren as you love them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.