Today’s reading is 1 John 1.
As we pointed out yesterday, God is light. If we are going to walk in fellowship with Him, we will be in the light. If instead, we walk in darkness, we simply need to understand we are not holding on to His hand.
Be aware. John isn’t issuing a command here. He doesn’t demand, “Walk in the light!” Neither does John offer instruction. He doesn’t teach, “Christians must walk in the light.” Further, he doesn’t offer advice. He doesn’t suggest, “You should walk in the light.” Rather, John just explains reality. God is light. There is no darkness in Him. Thus, if we are walking with Him, we will be in the light. If, on the other hand, we walk in darkness, we can claim we are walking with God all day long, but we aren’t.
Picture someone entering a dark room, refusing to flip on the light switch, tripping over every obstacle and bumping into every bit of furniture, all while claiming to be walking in the light. Silly, right? Yet, how many do precisely that in life? God is light. Turning to God means discovering precisely how to live life in the most abundant way possible. He will turn the lights on our path. Yet, so often we keep our eyes closed, trip over the obstacles, bump into the furniture, bruise and batter ourselves, and try to claim we are holding on to God’s hand.
Understand from John’s own statement, walking in the light doesn’t mean sinless perfection. Even those who walk in the light admit they have sin. In fact, if someone claims they don’t have sin, John says they are lying and have no truth in them. In other words, if someone claims they have no sin, they aren’t walking in the light at all. Obviously then, in our real lives, though we walk in God’s light, we sometimes stumble on the path. Stumbling on the lighted path, however, is not the same as abandoning the light to walk in the darkness. Let us never think we can simply walk in darkness while still claiming to walk with God.
On a practical level, this demonstrates that while we are serving the Lord, we will all fall prey to temptation. After all, we’re forgiven and growing. We aren’t perfect. But we must not let this fact become permission to simply sin and definitely not permission to pursue sin. If we take the forgiveness and cleansing Jesus offers as permission to sin, we haven’t stumbled on the path, we’ve left it.
God is light. If you’re walking in darkness, you aren’t walking with Him. Can we help you walk in the light? Let us know in the comments below.
Tomorrow’s reading is 1 John 1.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does 1 John 1 prompt or improve your hope in God?
Read the Bible 