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How Shall We
Live?... In the Light of God and His Word
Can our conduct be separated from what we say? No, what we say we
believe must be tested by God’s truth. How we live is a reflection of
what we really believe, not just what we say
we believe.
As we examine our walk before
God, we must always begin with truth regarding God’s character. John
begins with this essential truth:
"God is light and in him there is no
darkness at all" (I John
1:5). This truth (God is light—truth and righteousness) reveals
darkness (error and evil) for what it is. Jesus proclaimed Himself to
be the Light of the World (John 1:4; 8:12). As people came in contact
with Him, they were forced to choose to walk in the light of His life
or to remain in darkness (error and evil).
As believers, we sin daily. How
do we deal with sin in our lives? Do we ignore, excuse, or justify our
sin? Is it a painful reality that we attempt to push away? We might
even say (or think),
"This sin doesn’t really affect me". In I John 1, the Apostle
John discusses three variations on this theme. Let’s examine this
first claim. "If we say we have (share) fellowship with Him and yet
keep on walking in darkness - we lie and do not practice the truth" (I
John 1:6). This claim reveals several internal beliefs we might
have. We might be thinking, "This small sin" really isn’t that
important", or, "I am still in fellowship with God, even though
we may be continuing to sin in a particular way".
To "walk in darkness" is an Old
Testament picture. Isaiah uses this picture of Israel as he prophesies
the coming of the Messiah (Is. 9:2). Jesus picks up this theme in John
8:12 when he contrasts this with those who follow Him
("The one who follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life"). This "walk in
darkness" reflects an ongoing attitude of mind; a determination to
choose sin rather than God, as we live day by day. What is the
consequence when our words ("if we say we have fellowship…")
don’t match up with our living? John answers by saying, "We are
lying and not practicing the truth". How easy it is for us to lie
– as children, when we are caught doing something wrong; as adults –
when we are stuck in a "sticky" situation—(Not so different than
children, are we?). But Jesus reveals the seriousness of our human
tendency to lie in John 8:41-47, when He identifies the Father of lies
as one "…who does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth
in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature
because he is a liar…."
(vs. 44).
But God, through the words of
John, offers us His remedy for our ongoing sin.
"But if we walk in the light as He
Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (vs. 7). This
"walk" begins as a continuous attitude of mind, choosing daily to live
"in the light".
John offers us two positive consequences for
"living in the light". We now have fellowship with God’s people, and
as we are cleansed through Christ’s blood we again have fellowship
with Him. The verb "cleanses" reflects a continuous, present action.
In the Cross, our sin is effectively and repeatedly purified. The
Cross is necessary, not only for our initial salvation, but also for
our ongoing sanctification ("…being saved…" II Cor. 2:15). As
we live in the light (God), the Holy Spirit produces in us an
awareness of God’s holiness and our sin.
God of light, You are my light. My prayer is that
You would shine Your light in me–to cleanse and purify me from my sin.
I choose to walk in You so that the words of my mouth and my conduct
will reflect Your light. Thank you for cleansing me and bringing me
back into fellowship with You–and with Your people.
Carol Aubrey, MA, LMFT, Director of Pastoral Care
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