Walking in the Light

UV 2063/10000 Walking in the Light
But 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.
John 1 v 7

We walk in the light when we walk in truth. Every step we take in life, every decision, every interaction is guided and guarded by the truth of His Word. In contrast, the world, its philosophies and systems are the darkness. We are called to be in it but not be influenced by the world and its philosophies. Walking in the light implies that we know the direction we are heading for. It is the direction Jesus set for our lives. We are to walk in the righteousness of Christ. We have no righteousness of our own but we are clothed or anointed or covered with righteousness by faith in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. Sin represents darkness and we are set free from its power. The metaphor of walking is used as our relationship with the Lord is a step by step progression, a day to day experience of His grace, love and mercy. It is sequential- one step leads to the next. The terrain will change, the pace will change, the weather will change : yet, we are to keep moving in the direction He beckons us to. Our journey on earth is not lonely or loaded with unexplained misery or sorrow and care but like the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, the Resurrected Jesus walks with us every step of the way and explains every step we need to take. He not only accompanies us, explains things to us but stays back to enjoy our fellowship, to break bread with us. But we should be able to recognize His voice and understand His meaning. Once we recognize Him, we will be filled with joy and gladness, a sense of awe and worship of the Lord.

Adam’s perfect fellowship with the Lord broke when he first chose to sin. His rebellion was not so much in doing the forbidden but in disbelieving the words of the Lord and choosing to believe the words of his mortal enemy. When we choose to believe Jesus and to receive Him, we are choosing again not to sin in order to be restored to the fullness of fellowship of the Lord. We are also restored to fellowship with each other as we no longer see the speck in our brother’s eye and ignore the beam in our own.

We no longer have to hide ourselves from the Lord but can approach Him boldly, without guilt or fear. He relates to us as a person with his best friend. We can share all of our lives with Him. He is no longer a spectator in our lives but He is deeply aware of all that happen in our lives. He knows our thoughts and feelings, our desires and limitations. He knows our potential and our strengths and weaknesses. He is deeply involved in all of our lives. Since we have no light of our own, no wisdom or knowledge that we can call our own, we should let His light, the light of His love and knowledge and wisdom to shine through every pore of our bodies, every aspect of our lives. His light penetrates the deepest part of our being. The light from the sun’ s rays is the difference between life and death for all species on the earth. So also the light of the Lord’s love is the difference between eternal death and eternal life. It is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. Just as sunlight is good for plants, animals and all humans, so too the light of the Lord is wholesome, health-producing and health-enhancing, invigorating and energising.

Prateep V Philip