“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now” 1 John 2:9
Why is it that so many believers are unable to love their brothers and sisters in faith even though the Holy Spirit lives in their hearts and will enable them to do so. The answer is because our ability to love one another is dependent upon our spiritual growth. In Jesus we have a spiritual family. Even though all members of this family are experiencing different levels of spiritual growth, they all get to continue to grow spiritually.
These are the stages of spiritual growth in God’s children. The first one is the spiritual “adolescence”. These are people who are born again but still do not live according to the Word and do not build their relationship with God. They love the world with all their desires more than they love God (Galatians 5:19-21); therefore, they are unable to love their brothers and sisters in faith. Their lives have not become a blessing for others and instead they demand others to understand them. It is a childish character to always prioritize themselves instead of others.
The second one is the spirituality of “young people”. These are believers who continue to grow spiritually because they live according to God’s word and have intimate fellowship with God. They can defeat evil and they do not love the world with all their desires.
The third one is the spirituality of a “Father”. These are believers who continue to increase their spiritual growth; they love God more than the world with all their desires. Not only can they defeat evil, but they know God personally so that they become a living testimony and they are a blessing to others.
The word “know” in the original language is “ginosko” which means “understand”. Only believers who are spiritually mature can understand what God has willed for His people. God wants us to be His instruments; to be a channel of blessings for those who are experiencing difficulties.
God wants all of His believers to live according to His word and to have intimate fellowship with Him. Moreover, in this third Pentecostal era where the Holy Spirit is being poured out extraordinarily, believers must continue to grow spiritually where the Holy Spirit enables believers to defeat evil – to defeat the world with all of its desires, understand what is God’s will for His people and love and be a blessing to fellow believers. God Bless.
Source: Article from GBI Gatot Subroto