1 John 1:7 NIV
[7] “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
We have recently explored the reasons for much of the chaos that is happening in our country and, indeed, everywhere in the world. Leaders are telling stories that lead people into false thinking and false action based on lies. I’m fact, lying leaders are everywhere, both in the secular and the religious world, peddling their stories to suit their own agendas or to satisfy and spread their own prejudices.
To use the biblical expression, they “walk in darkness” because their evil desires and motives are hidden in the stories they tell. To “walk”, in this sense, is to conduct one’s life in keeping with the narrative one believes. If someone believes the narrative that he is better than others, in keeping with his belief, he will act accordingly, be it to belittle or insult others or even to get rid of them.
The kingdom of God, by stark contrast, is also a realm, though unseen, as real as the realm of evil and the Evil One in which we live. God’s kingdom, the way He governs the seen and unseen realms, is based on real truth, not the so-called “truth” that is convenient for each human individual. Real truth is objective. Objective truth never changes because it originates in God who is the embodiment of truth, regardless of whether we believe it not.
John’s narrative is, “God is light!” What is light? Light is, among many other things, the energy that reveals everything as it is. Therefore, God’s nature is to reveal and expose everything as it is, both good and evil.
To walk in the light, as our Scripture requires, means that we align our lives with God’s unchanging standard of doing the right thing regardless of whether it is convenient or not. God always reveals everything, good and bad, without partiality.
When we flick a light switch, the energy of electricity powers a light source to reveal what is in that space without impartiality. If the space is clean or dirty, the light will reveal its state. The light does not make the space clean or dirty. It simply reveals what it is.
When each person in the fellowship of God’s people, in families, or communities of people anywhere, are living in the light of God’s scrutiny by obeying His instructions, harmony prevails. We only keep bumping into each other when we “walk” in darkness.
The goal of our togetherness as believers in God’s family is fellowship… being one with the Father and the Son, through the work of the Spirit in us, living together with people in love and unity. The only way to maintain the fellowship created by the Spirit, is to “walk in the light.”
“Walking in the light” has two purposes, to reveal and get rid of whatever “darkness” is hindering harmony, and to keep us in step with God by walking together in the same direction.
We walk in darkness when we take care of ourselves at the expense of others. We walk in the light when we take care of others at our expense.
What happens when we walk in darkness? Our own desires clash with other people’s desires. The outcome? Chaos!
The solution? Allow the light of God’s truth to expose the darkness of our selfishness. In humility, we acknowledge where we have gone wrong. This kind of honesty, taking responsibility for our wrong attitudes and actions, constitutes transparency…walking in the light.
In this environment of transparency, the blood of Jesus does its work like a winsdscreen wiper. His blood, the forgiveness of sin, automatically keeps us clean and free from guilt.
To maintain this fellowship of the saints together, in harmony with God, transparency requires humility, honesty, and….most of all, grace, grace to admit wrong, to accept help, and to return to the way lit by God’s truth. Grace celebrates weakness and acknowledges God’s power to overcome selfishness. These are the ingredients that make walking in the light possible on our way, together with Jesus, to the eternal realm of the Father.