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  • Anneke de Jong

Walking in the Light

You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.

 

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

- 1 John 1:3


Today we are invited to take an assessment, courtesy of the apostle John. He’s writing to his “dear children” who have been the victims of false teachers. In this letter, John gives foundational teachings about Jesus, human sinfulness and how to know if we are in fellowship with God.


John starts by setting the standard. “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Can you imagine pure light? Without a shadow or a hint of darkness lingering around the edges? Pure, true, reliable, holy. John uses this same metaphor many times in his gospel. Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).


Conversely, have you ever experienced total darkness? The complete absence of light? I once climbed into an underground lava tube with a group of 7th graders at CVC’s Science Camp. We extinguished our flashlights and sat in silence in the pitch-dark. The students began reciting Genesis 1 and when they came to “Let there be light,” the teacher flipped on his flashlight. The darkness was powerless against that single beam of light. So it is with God. Without His light, we live in utter darkness. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).


After setting the standard of God’s holiness, and by implication our lack of it, John goes on to explain how we can evaluate if we are “walking in His light” (verses 6-10). God wants us to live out our lives in relationship with Him. Not only that, He’s the one that makes it possible.


Are you honest about the sin in your life?


You cannot talk about being in fellowship with God while living a life filled with sin. Does your life reflect a good and holy God? Are you able to see where it doesn’t?


Are you confessing your sin?

You can only fake godliness for so long. Eventually your sin and deception will be exposed. But the amazing thing is, we don’t have to fake godliness. We are actually made righteous before God through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are also a work in progress as the Holy Spirit continually sanctifies us to make us more and more like Christ.


Are you confident in the forgiveness of your sins?

We all sin; we will all continue to sin. It’s a truth found throughout all of Scripture (Rom. 3:23). But we walk confidently knowing that our sins have been forgiven. "Justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).


Take some time to ponder these questions today. Then, let the good news of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit assure you that you are walking in the light of fellowship with God.


“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

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