HAVE YOU EVER gone through a tough season of faith, what the 16th century Spanish mystic John of the Cross once called a “dark night of the soul”? Maybe it was a painful loss. Or being unfairly targeted at your place of work. Or a medical diagnosis that caught you by surprise and threw you into what seemed like an endless and grueling treatment regimen. How did you cope? Who or what helped you through that difficult time?

For some Christians, as I’ve already suggested, that dark night of the soul comes because of “church hurt,” a deeply disillusioning experience of conflict among people who are supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ. The congregation divides into us versus them factions. There may be a misuse or abuse of power. Individuals are vilified or scapegoated. Self-righteous anger abounds, and there’s little patience or compassion.

Put simply, folks aren’t doing a very good job of loving one another.

JOHN DOESN’T SAY it directly, but I imagine a similar situation in his community. People who claim to know God and follow Jesus should also love another, as Jesus himself commanded. But that kind of loving unity can be threatened when people become enamored of new ideas and insist that others change their minds too — especially when these new ideas undermine the bedrock of what people believe.

When the situation in John’s community had deteriorated to the point of people leaving, he wrote a letter to help comfort the confused and call them back to the basics of what they already believed. The Christians in his community were of all levels of maturity, from relatively recent converts to those who were more senior in the faith. Metaphorically, he refers to them in the letter as “children,” “young men,” and “fathers,” and preaches memorable words of encouragement and affirmation.

His first word to the “children” is that their “sins have been forgiven on account of his name” (1 John 2:12, NIV). Remember that he has already referred to all the recipients of his letter as his “dear children” at the beginning of the chapter, where he writes this:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

All the members of the community are his beloved children. And everyone would already have known what he writes here about sin; it was fundamental to the gospel they had believed. But the controversy that had split the community called what they believed about sin and sinfulness into question. John had to reassure them: Yes, you are sinful. But don’t forget: in Jesus, your sins are forgiven!

He also tells the “children” that they “know the Father” (vs. 14). This, too, echoes what he said earlier in the chapter: “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person” (vs. 4). Some people in the community had been claiming to have a relationship with God, but their conduct said otherwise. John reassures his audience that this is not true of them; in contrast with those who had spoken falsely, they do in fact know the Father, and their lives show it.

To the so-called “fathers,” he says the same thing twice: “you know him who is from the beginning” (vss. 13, 14). At the very least, as we’ve seen, “the beginning” may refer to the time when they first heard the gospel. But in John’s cosmic outlook, “the beginning” also refers back to the story of creation in Genesis 1. He’s already told the “children” that they know the Father; now he seems to tell the fathers that they know Jesus, the one who was with God from the beginning, the one through whom the universe was created (John 1:2-3). What he says, of course, should be true of all the faithful in the community. But this way of saying it may be a reference to the fact that some have known Jesus longer. Hopefully, they’ll be able to offer some wise and calm support to those who are younger in the faith.

Finally, to the “young men,” he also says the same thing twice: “you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:13, 14). This is the first time in the letter that he refers to Satan — but it won’t be the last. In chapter 3, he refers to the story in Genesis 4, of Cain murdering of his brother Abel out of anger and resentment:

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. (1 John 3:11-12)

The point is that in the next chapter, John will specifically link Jesus’ commandment to love one another to the story of Cain and the influence of Satan. It may be, then, that what he is saying here in chapter 2 is that at least some of the people in the community have already resisted the temptation to resent those who have caused all the trouble, all the confusion and drama.

But that’s not all he says to the so-called “young men.” Before affirming for the second time that they have overcome the evil one, he also says “you are strong, and the word of God lives in you” (1 John 2:14). That latter phrase also echoes something he’s already said. At the end of chapter 1, he wrote that God’s word is not in anyone who claims to be without sin (1 John 1:10). Thus, John is again reassuring people: When I talk about those who are deceiving themselves, who don’t have God’s word or truth in them, I don’t mean you! Rather, they are strong in the faith; because God’s word lives in them, they have avoided the temptation to hate.

ALL OF THIS, I think, is John’s way of saying to the community, Hang in there, baby! It’s been hard. It’s been confusing. Some of you still have doubts and questions. But let me assure you of the faithfulness I’ve seen in you already. You have a relationship to both the Father and the Son. You already know the truth. So hold fast to what you know, what you learned when you first heard and received the gospel. And above all, love and support one another.

So think back to those dark seasons you’ve endured. Who or what helped you to hang onto your faith?

And who, perhaps, needs your help to do the same?