Is The Darkness Passing Away?

I was reading 1 John and I got stuck on 1 John 2:7-8 (NASB).  It states the following:

 ⁷ Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ⁸ On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

I had to think about this one for awhile.  Especially the statement, "because the darkness is passing away".  I couldn't help but ask, "Is it really?"  When I look at our world today, it looks darker than ever and it seems to be getting even darker. 

As I continued on, I realized that 1 John 2 is really talking about two separate deaths.  There is one death that is happening within us as we "abide in the light" 

Verse 10 talks about this internal "passing away":

 ¹⁰ The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him

Then from verse 15 on, there is another death or "passing away" that seems to be occurring.  Verse 17 states this:

¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

We see that while darkness seems to be thriving, it doesn't take a scholar to see that this world is falling apart.  There there's that word I see again in verse 24:

 ²⁴ As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

So I hit the Greek for this one and most of the meanings are very similar:

"abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for)"

The message seems simple when we look at it, but it suggests a few things:

·         If we are told to "remain", it suggests that we are going to be tempted to walk away.  Whether it is what we are facing or what we are tempted by, we must make a conscious effort to "remain".  It won't just happen.  We must be purposeful in remaining. I love this verse:

Proverbs 4:23
²³ Watch over your heart with all diligence, 
For from it flow the springs of life. 

This implies that our heart will be tempted and we must guard it intentionally.

·         If we are to "endure", it means that there are times that it will be hard "to be in the Light".  There is a popular misconception that Christianity is easy.  It's not easy.  You may not be successful or have your "best life now."  Your faith may involve sacrifice or even suffering.  Jesus put this easy life thought to rest rather quickly:

John 16:33

³³These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus states that it will be hard, but He never leaves us without hope.  He just promises that it will be worth it.

·         If you are to "stand", you may lose friends.  You may not be popular and your stand may require courage in facing fierce opposition.  I love this line from the movie Courageous:

A father says to his son, "What I want for you is that you seek the Lord, that you trust Him, even if it means you're standing alone." 

What would you do if everyone you knew turned their back on you because you trusted God?  Could you do it?  I believe it's harder than we think.

So I closed my Bible with a new appreciation for the word "abide".  The world is passing away.  The old me is passing away as I draw closer to Christ.  No matter what I face in this life, my biggest hope is that I abide in Christ, no matter what the cost.