IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1-5).

God is the Creator and Designer of all that exists in the natural world.  He is the Architect and Builder of all that exists in the unseen spiritual realm as well.  In the beginning He spoke the worlds into existence and hung the stars in space.  Like a potter with a lump of clay, He took this earth which was without form, and void, and He brought order and purpose out of the chaos, fashioning a home for His greatest creation – man. 

Scripture tells us, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear [things which are visible or apparent].” (Hebrews 11:3).  By His Word God spoke all things into existence in just six days.  It was not the result of any big bang, or a slow evolutionary process that extended over millions and millions of years.  It was the expression of God’s perfect will instantly wrought by His unchanging spoken Word.  He commanded it, and it was done.  He spoke it, and it came to pass.  It was not a visible, chaotic world that miraculously made itself into this wonderfully ordered planet and universe that we see today.  It was God speaking something out of nothing because that’s who He is, and that’s what He does!

The first thing that God spoke as He began to bring order to the earth was, “Let there be light.”  Before this, the earth was engulfed in darkness; but God’s Spirit moved upon the face of the waters, and God’s Word brought light into the world.  This was no ordinary light.  The sun, moon, and stars would not be created for three more days.  This light had no artificial source because God Himself was its source.  St. John tells us that, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5b).  Jesus (Who is the Word of God and by Whom everything that is in the universe was made) also said of Himself, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12). 

That God is the source of true light may seem fantastic or mystical to some, but God confirms this when He speaks by His prophet Isaiah, “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” (Isaiah 60:19,20).  God also tells us plainly that in the Kingdom of Heaven things will be quite different because: “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5).

Light is an amazing gift to be sure.  Natural light literally colors our world.  The absorption or reflection of certain wavelengths of light is what allows us to see different objects in different colors.  Natural light also promotes health and growth in living things. 

The most important aspect of light is its ability to reveal things as they really are.  “For whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:13).  For this reason light is closely related to truth (see John 3:21).  Years ago, my wife and I took our children to visit the Meramec Caverns in Missouri.  At one point our tour guide led us into a vast cavern and had us all sit down in a gallery where there were chairs.  Even though it was well lit with electric lights, we could not see the ceiling or far walls because of its size.  Then the guide informed us that he was going to turn off every light and leave them off until our eyes adjusted to the absence of light.  I had never experienced the total absence of light as I did in that place.  Even after my eyes became “adjusted,” I could not discern my own hand in front of my face.  It was astonishing and sobering at the same time.  Then our guide lit a match and held it up.  Wondrously, that one little flame illuminated the entire cavern as though it were a large beacon.  Of course my mind thought of the spiritual application for what we had seen and I considered how even a very small amount of light or truth can illuminate the darkness that is in our lives. 

In Jesus Christ (the Word of God) there is life, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and that life is the light of men.  Outside of Christ we can’t know true spiritual life, but are walking around in darkness.  Only when we accept Christ as our Savior and the Lord of our lives can we be quickened to new life and spiritually born again.  That is when we step into the true light and allow God to penetrate all of the dark corners of our life where sin hides.  Jesus said, “...every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:20, 21).  This precious divine life is the thing that mankind tragically lost in Adam, but in Christ it can be regained by faith.

St. John testified of the divine life that is found in Christ when he wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;).” (1 John 1:1, 2).  The very Word of God Who was in the beginning with God, Who created all things, and Who brought light and eternal life into the world was made flesh and blood and was manifested to the apostles and disciples of John’s time.  They were first hand witnesses of His glory and divinity.  Their eyes beheld, their ears heard, and their hands touched the Word of life.  After knowing Him, the sole purpose of those early believers was to share the good news of the gospel so that others could enter into this blessed fellowship and know fullness of joy (see 1 John 1:3, 4).

John then gets to the meat of the matter and the real purpose for his epistle to the saints of God.  He writes, “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5).  The first man and woman jeopardized both the light and the life when they chose to disobey God’s command.  They found it difficult to stand in God’s light as they had before in the Garden of Eden, and found it necessary to hide from Him because of their guilt.  God always knows where we are.  We can run, but we can’t hide.  The fellowship and intimate relationship that they had known with their Maker was suddenly broken, and they sought the darkness rather than the light.  “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (1 John 1:6).  We cannot deliberately choose darkness over the light and then profess that we have fellowship with God.  Light and dark do not mix.  We must be all in for God, or all out.  There is no in-between.  The good news, however, is that, “…if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7).  Because Jesus’ blood cleanses us from every sin (that’s every sin) there is no need to hide from our heavenly Father and retreat to the darkness.  We are invited to come boldly to the throne of God where we can find mercy and grace to help in our time of need.  The important thing is that we are willing to acknowledge our sins to God and repent freely and whole-heartedly for them.  No excuses, no white washing of what we have done, but complete openness and contrition before our Father.

John goes on to tell us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8, 9).  The writer uses two very similar words here to describe two very different things.  The concept of “sin” is not the same as “sins”.  We are all born in sin.  “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5).  When we become Christians our sin nature does not disappear.  We discover at some point that Christianity is a process of being transformed into the image of Jesus by the renewing of our minds.  Yesterday I did not know that I was selfish in a certain area of my life, but today the Holy Spirit has made me painfully aware of every time I choose myself over another.  My “sin” which was present all along, but I was unaware of, has now become a series of “sins” which I am very aware of.  I cannot repent of my sinful nature or bring it to the throne to be eradicated once and for all because I don’t know what I am repenting of yet.  My “sins” on the other hand I can bring to God and trust in the blood of Jesus to cleanse every one.  It would be like appearing before a judge and asking to be exonerated for all of the bad things that I could potentially commit from now until I die.  The judge could not do that because I am neither guilty of any crime yet, nor can he know which ones I may commit.  While it is true that Jesus’ blood cleanses from all “sin,” past, present, and future, it is still necessary that we repent of every new sin and determine to trust God’s grace to give us strength to not repeat that sin.

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10).  All have sinned and come short of God’s glory.  If we say differently, then we are only lying to ourselves and making God out to be a liar as well.  Remember, His Word is light, and His light will reveal the sin in our life no matter what.

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1, 2).  It is God’s will that we sin not.  He has called us to be overcomers in this life, not slain warriors.  Many would argue and say that it is not possible to go even a day without sinning, but God’s word is very clear when it says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16).  We can make a practice of walking in the flesh and following our own carnal desires, or we can learn to walk in the Spirit and follow the Lord of glory.  We can’t maintain good fellowship with our Father if we are choosing to walk in darkness rather than the light of truth.  If the former describes your walk with God, then isn’t it time to step into the light and allow God to have His way in your life? 

 

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalms 27:1). 

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105).