“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 sin.” 1 John 1.5-6
Light and Darkness
John writes, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” What does it mean for God to be light? What is light? Purity, holiness, goodness, grace? If God is light, then no one else can occupy that position. There is no darkness, evil, or impurity in God, as there is in humanity. Did God create darkness? No, He created the ability for darkness, for choice, for evil. (Anything apart from God is darkness.) We chose to sin because we were given the ability to do so. A loving God allows us to choose. A loving parent allows children to work things out for themselves. God is light, and He has no darkness in Him, even though we were created in His image, we have the ability to sin.
And yet, in verse 6, if we “claim to have fellowship with Him,” which would mean we are walking in the light, “yet walk in darkness” because of our wicked or evil ways, “we lie and do not live out the truth.” The opposite of light is darkness. The opposite of lies is truth. We cannot claim one thing and live another. We cannot be for God and for sin at the same time.
Therefore, John writes, if we “walk in the light, as He is in the light,” what happens? “We have fellowship with one another…” which is a good thing! And only one thing can make us clean—“the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
So here is the story of humanity: We are born in light with the ability to sin. We choose sin because we can and because we are unwise to the ways of the world. God made a provision for us to choose life—through the only one who could save us—Jesus the Christ. The ultimate sacrifice of blood, which is something the Jews would understand, comes from the Lamb of God.
I have lived long enough to have known both light and darkness. I have chosen purity, and I have chosen sin. And although sin seems appealing, its destructive nature separates me from God—this is not who I am. Yet when I walk in the light, I have fellowship with the Creator, and I am so much better. My life is better when I choose God. And I believe—so is yours.
So let’s choose to walk in the light of God’s love and find strength and help in our time of need.
“O Lord God, You are good. Thank you for loving me, for allowing me to know You, love You, and serve You. Draw me to Your throne. This life is so meaningful yet so short. It prepares me for the next life with You. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill me with Your love. Cover me with the blood of Jesus and redeem my soul. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen