“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 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, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.” 1 John 1.5-7
What does it mean to have fellowship with God? And why is this so important?
The first question has arguably been the reason for human existence. Fellowship with God matters. It gives us purpose as he is the One who created us. John helps us answer this question in this passage above. Fellowship with God involves walking in the “light.” What is this light? To walk as Jesus walked and to live as Jesus lived. Jesus did not walk in darkness but he walked in the light. And is indeed the light of life.
Sometimes people claim to know God, to be walking with him, but they walk in darkness instead. Unconfessed sin and an unrepentant heart keeps us from walking in the light of God’s grace. Spiritually speaking, the darkness brings not only death (Romans 6:23 — “the wages of sin is death…”) but also separation. Sin blocks us from knowing, experiencing and loving God.
That is why John is proclaiming that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” If we want to have fellowship with God and one another we are to walk in the light and to allow the “blood of Jesus, his Son, (to) purify us all from sin.” I know that when I am distant from God it’s because of my sin and how I moved away from him, not the other way around.
I see things simply, child-like, basic. I believe in the spiritual realm and the angels and demons who come near to us as a response to our love and obedience, or lack thereof, to God. If we are walking with him we are filled with his Holy Spirit, guarded by angels, and walk in fellowship with God and others. But just as Adam and Eve ate the apple and were immediately filled with shame and separated from God, so the same happens to us. When we sin and fail to confess, the demonic hold is real and constant. It inhibits our relationship with God.
So let’s do what John recommends and walk in the light for God is in the light and through obedience and commitment to the Lord Jesus, we might walk with him and be happy and blessed all the days of our lives.
“O Lord God, I confess my recklessness. I confess my waywardness to sin and to pull away from you. I confess my desire to be my own god. Forgive me Lord. Help me hinder my desires for evil and increase my desires for holiness and spiritual health. I praise you Lord for your Spirit and for Word that dwell within me. I am yours. I belong to you. Come now, Lord God, fill me with your power and wash me in the blood of the Lamb. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen