WALKING IN THE LIGHT

Recently I entered the church from the back hallway, heading for the basement. Being well after dark I turned on the light in the stairway and headed downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs I was standing at one of the entrances to what we refer to as our Awana Game Room. The light switches for this room were on the other side of the room and the room itself was pitch-black. A known expression is ‘You can’t see your hand in front of your face.’ In this case, this was absolutely true. With some construction work going on in the basement I had no idea what might be in front of me. I walked very slowly with my hand stretched out in front, ‘just in case.’ I made it to the other side of the room, I was able to turn on the lights and do what I had come to do. When I finished I needed to go back the same way I had entered, which meant turning the lights off and walking in the dark again. But, this time it was a bit easier. While I still couldn’t see anything it front of me, I knew that as long as I walked straight toward the light in the hallway I would be safe. When I reflected on that, I couldn’t help but think of an analogy with I John 1:7: “If we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us for all sin.” Like my basement experience, if we keep walking toward the light that God provides we will be safe. Psalm 119:105 says of God’s Holy Word, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Christ is referred to as the “Light of the world” in several references. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” And in John 8:12 Christ says of Himself, “I am the light of the world…” In Scripture, as well as general conversation, darkness is often used to describe that which is evil while light is often used to describe that which is good. You really don’t have to be a Christian to see and witness the darkness of this world. The depravity of man is presented to us almost nightly on the news. It is discussing what man does to his fellow man with seemingly little or no feelings of remorse.

By God’s grace He can and will deliver us from this world of darkness if we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior. In I Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” When we are delivered from this world of darkness and we continue to walk in the Light of Christ three things are made possible according the I John 1:6,7. The first is implied while the next two are clearly spelled out.

First, we have fellowship with the Father, Vs. 6. As I said, this is implied by the words, “If we claim to have fellowship with the Him (God who is Light, Vs. 5) yet walk in darkness…” Considering this verse from the positive rather than the negative we would read, “We have fellowship with the Father if we walk in the light He provides...” (Wahl translation) Why walk in the darkness of this world when we can walk in the light God provides?

Secondly, we have fellowship with one another, Vs. 7. That is, our fellow believer. If your fellowship comes from those walking in darkness, or Christians out of step with a clear Christian walk, you might want to examine your faith. Our fellowship should be with fellow believers clearly walking in the Light of God’s Word.

Thirdly, the blood of Christ continues to cleanse us from the sin in our lives, Vs. 7. Since we all sin on a daily basis (see verse 8) we need that refreshing wash from Christ daily. We, as Christians, need to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for what He did for us on Calvary. I Peter 1:18,19: “…you know that it was not with perishable things….that you were redeemed….but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish and defect.”

Let’s make every effort to continue walking in the Light.