Walk in the Light

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." I John 1:5-7

Again, let's take this phrase by phrase:

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you
Once again, we have a seemingly unimportant piece of a sentence, a mere declaration. But, really, it is something so much more than that. By this phrase we see that John isn't simply living his own life, minding his own business--just going to church on Sunday morning, praying before a meal, doing "churchy" things. He is fulfilling the great commission--telling others about Jesus--declaring his Word. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." Matthew 28:19-20

"that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."
Let's look at some scripture that supports this statement, before expounding on it.
"who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." 1Tim 6:16
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:4-5

Light signifies truth and righteousness. God's righteousness is unapproachable--we learn that through 1Tim 6:16--which means that no one can attain it of their own power, will, or ability. And it shown in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it. What does that mean? It means that people who live in the darkness, even if they see the light, they don't understand it--they can't comprehend it. I was watching an old clip of American Idol during the season when Chris Daughtry was on, and Mandisa--who is an incredibly talented singer and also very devoted Christian--chose to sing "Shackles" an old Mary Mary song about freedom in Christ and praising him. (Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce8nNTIewaA) Mandisa did a fantastic job, but Simon and Randy "didn't understand her song choice." And that is a perfect example of how darkness cannot comprehend light--they had light shining right in front of them and they simply couldn't comprehend the light. They couldn't understand why Mandisa chose that song. People who live in the darkness (which is a sinful life apart from Christ) simply don't understand the Lord or His ways; nor do they understand why we MUST praise him.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Matthew 6:24 tells us that: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other..." It is impossible for us to abide--truly and completely abide--in Christ and live a life in the darkness. As He is the Light of the World, if we are in Him, we are bearers of that light and servants of righteousness and truth. But if we walk in darkness--in sin-- then we cannot be walking in Him. Light and dark are absolute opposites, as are Christ and sin. If we live a sinful life, fulfilling only the desires of our flesh, we are not truly living for Christ. And the opposite is true as well: if we live a life dedicated to the Lord we are unable to live a life of sin. That doesn't mean that we won't sin; we all sin. But if we pursue Christ we won't sin as often, and when we do sin we will be convicted of that sin and will repent of it.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." If we live our lives in Him, pursuing Him, pursuing truth andlove and righteousness, we have fellowship. It is amazing how well we get along with people when we are truly living our lives for the Lord. His love and long-suffering work through us and make us more kind and more forgiving. And we are better able to fellowship with one another. If we abide in The Light, The Light becomes a part of us and the darkness in our lives must flee because light ALWAYS overcomes darkness.

Micah 6:8 tells us what the Lord requires of us: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" We cannot do these things if we live in the darkness--it goes against our nature. Our nature is to lie, cheat, steal, to be rash and judgmental, to be proud and boastful, to look out for number one. Our nature is darkness, but in Christ we can fulfill the charge in Micah 6:8 because HIS BLOOD cleanses us from unrighteousness, it washes our old nature away and gives us the nature of Christ. And His light shows us how to live a righteous life.

This is by no means an overnight occurrence. It is a continual process. Why do you think our life with Christ is called a walk? It's full of steps. Each step brings us closer to who Christ has created us to be. Sure, sometimes we're going to trip; sometimes we're going to sit our light down and get off track; and other times we're going to hold that light out before us and press forward. And it's not going to be easy. You can't snap your fingers and make it happen. If it were easy, the whole world would do it and Christianity wouldn't be hated and put down as much as it is. But the Lord is good and His Light is bright, and walking with Him is far better than walking in the dark. And there is hope and blessing waiting for us if we walk in the light.

Walk in the light.