Biblical Answer

What Does Love Look Like in the Darkness?

Love is the new command (which is yet old) and belongs to the new age in which the true light is already shining. In the darkest night, one might just discern the possibility of dawn. And love therefore does what justice, freedom, power, truth, beauty, and spirituality all do in their own ways: it raises questions, questions which point beyond darkness, whatever they may claim for themselves, are strangers to this relationship. The God who is love is first and foremost light, and sentimental ideas of His love as an indulgent, benevolent softness, twilight. The first part of the contrast is simple. What follows shows, however, that our love and hatred not only reveal whether we are already in the light or in the darkness, but actually contribute to it.

The contrast between light and darkness is crucial in understanding what love looks like. In the vocabulary of John, love, light, and life belong together, as do hatred, darkness, and death. Anyone who does not love remains in death, just as he is in darkness. However, when we are connected to Christ, we are connected to light, and the resurrection life is designed to bring us to light. This is why Paul says, "Anyone who does not love remains in death, just as he is in darkness" (2:9, 11). In contrast, love is what exposes and contrasts with darkness by showing it up. To be connected to Christ is to be connected to light, and the resurrection life is designed to bring us to light.

The love that is spoken of in the passage is not the ordinary love that conditions wise knowing in the regular world. Rather, it is a love that is so much deeper than our current hearts can hold, and a true intimacy better than our weak bodies could ever experience. This love is not the love of the world, but the divine, unconditional love of God (agape) as described in Scripture. It is a love that is not based on human emotions or feelings, but on the character of God. This love is what exposes and contrasts with darkness by showing it up, and it is what brings light into the darkest of places. It is a love that is strong as death, and it cannot be quenched by many waters or overflowed by rivers. This is the love that we are called to reflect, and it is the love that will bring light into the darkest of places.