Walking in the Light

A  number of years ago I memorized the verse, 1 John 1:7, by singing a simple chorus.  It was during a season in my life where I had committed my post high school years to attend bible college before university and along with other young people eager to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ, we would often find ourselves in small groups, singing.  There was usually a guitarist ready to strum some chords and the result was scriptures we were meditating on, put to music while working out some heartfelt harmony. To this day 1 John 1:7 occasionally rises up in my heart with a simple melody, resulting in gratitude to the Lord for the power of His Word.  

It says, ‘But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, you’ll have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from sin’.  Allow me to dig deeper into this verse as it sheds some light (pun intended!) as we mature in our faith walk. 

1. Walk in. We can walk into a room, or walk into a conversation. We want our kids to walk in the values and instructions we teach. Even so, we too can walk in the light – which is a manifested understanding of seeing things as God has revealed them. 

2. Fellowship. Walking in God’s light will always include others in our faith family. That’s just His way. Inclusion.  We all know that walking with others includes some giving and taking.  There’s always something to learn from another and something for them to learn through you.
   
   The Greek word for ‘fellowship’ is ‘koinonia’ and by definition it means: 
   
   1. Contributing
   2. Distributing
   3. Communicating
   
   I’m sure we can all recall a time in our life when we don’t feel like contributing or distributing or even communicating.  It could be due to an offensive word or reaction from a brother or sister in Christ; feeling left out or resented.  Or was it a buildup of let downs combined from a friend, a church member, a pastor or family member. How does this verse help us? It causes us to recall the cross and what the blood of Jesus did for us. In reflecting on the price that was paid for our freedom, we find grace.  Grace to forgive those who have trespassed against us. Grace to contribute financially, prayerfully as well as with the time God has given us.  We find grace to distribute God’s truth to others, volunteer and share material possessions. There’s also the grace to communicate with kindness and clarity, as evidence of walking in light.   

3. Cleansed from Sin. In verse 6 of the same chapter, it’s clear that if we aren’t walking in fellowship with Him and others, we’re occupied in obscurity.  It’s bowing to the lie that we don’t need to contribute, distribute and communicate with fellow believers.
   
   We weren’t meant to walk through this life alone and through God’s mercy, our thoughts and the intents of our hearts are revealed, exposing any dirt of sin and allowing it to be removed so we can walk in His light! (Hebrews 4:12)
   
   Walking in the light may be recalling a worship song you’ve learned and giving mindful attention to the words. In all things, I pray that God would shed His light in a fresh way as we fellowship not only with our Heavenly Father, but with others!