Scripture: 1 John 1 v 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 Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Ephesians 5 v 11 - 12: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."
What does it mean to walk in the light? It means that we don't hide behind masks, or have dark secrets. We are open, honest, faithful, loyal, appreciative and a blessing to others. We walk in the light of what we have learnt from the Bible, the very life of Jesus Christ. We live in the Light of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher.
We walk in love, too, by showing kindness, speaking the truth, being willing to serve the Lord through prayer and ministry. We shun sin and its darkness because we need to walk in Jesus' sinless light. He never sinned, so His light is the purest, most radiant light of all. He said in John 14 v 6: I am the Light. In John 1 it says: He is the light of the world.
Those who walk in darkness hate that Light because it will shine into all their hidden evil and expose it. They will either repent or retreat. Christians should not have fellowship with those who scuttle back into darkness. It serves no purpose to condone their sinfulness.
Our fellowship is with Jesus Christ, and those who walk in the same Light. If any have sinned the light will expose it and His Blood will cleanse it. This is a strong discernment: if fellowship ceases, determine which of you is walking in the light, and pray for the true light to bring the backslider back to Jesus.
Those who are in darkness are unfruitful and instead of having fellowship we should reprove them, and point out that their behaviour is unacceptable. Look at how Jesus treated the scribes and Pharisees in His day. He called them a generation of vipers full of hypocrisy and pride.
He fought for the Temple by turning over the tables of the money-lenders who were making huge profits on the steps. He told them they had turned the house of God into a den of thieves. Its happening today! There are churches that have pastors, evangelists, prophets that are raking in millions of dollars and living lives of luxury. They live in mansions, have jets, yachts, fleets of expensive cars, ornate churches.
They forget that they are following Jesus who rode the latest model donkey when He entered Jerusalem. He was hailed as a king and branches were torn off Palm trees to make a carpet for Him. Hosanna to the Highest they shouted! Jesus said if they had not rejoiced to see Him the stones would have done so. Why? Because He is the Word! He is the Creator of everything!
God sees everything that goes on and final judgment rests with Him. He sent forth the Light of the world to rescue us. He calls out to us and shines His light into the darkness to save us from sin and death. If we do not respond He moves on.
If you see His light and hear His call respond as loudly and as enthusiastically as you can. Do not be left for dead. Become a fruitful loving Christian shining His light and calling for people to heed the gospel. You need to engage a higher gear, be motivated to be an inspiration, so that you remain in that glorious light forever.
When we are in the presence of other Christians Jesus is in our midst and we should not ignore Him. We should feel free to share the love and testimonies of His blessings upon us. When it is frowned upon by those who claim they are Christians, we should wonder how real their commitment is. We should pray for the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn up the barriers to their hearts.
If we walk in the light of Jesus we will have fellowship with one another. We will be as loving family members. We will not be snobbish against any who do not have the same level of income, or fine clothes, or motor cars that we have. Jesus put aside the Kingdom of Heaven, His royal garments, His Home to be born in a stable as a human. He did it to fulfil all righteousness and save us from Hell.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we love the Light You sent us and we want that Light to shine through us so we may extend Your Kingdom and be a help to those who struggle. Help us to have sweet fellowship in that Light so many can be cleansed of sin by the Blood of Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.