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Topic:Ignoring the light
READ THE SCRIPTURE: 1 JOHN 1: 5-7
If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1: 6
What problem does this verse present? Here we have Christians who have established a relationship with God; they have been part of the family of God through faith in Christ. This means that they are enjoying the whole stream of life in the Spirit, but there is no sign of it in their lives. They lie, because they do not live according to the truth. It is possible that their lives are hard and without affection, critical, and also be demanding with other people.
So, what is wrong? There is nothing wrong with the relationship. It is no use talking to these people to become Christians, because they are . The problem is that they are walking in the dark. Most of us read this mentally as referring to having fallen into sin, which at one time was called “the condition of recidivism,” which is the opposite of walking in the light. But if we consider this phrase in this way, we are confusing cause with results. The fact is that we sin because we are walking in the dark! “Walking in the dark” is not synonymous with sinning; We are sinning because we walk in the dark.
What is darkness? We need to answer this first on a physical level. How would you do to move in a room that is dark? Now it is full of light. Would you in some way reduce the light or cast darkness into a well? Of course not; all we need to do is turn off the light. Darkness is simply the absence of light, and that is exactly what John means here. Walking in the dark means walking as if God did not exist, because God is light; is to be practically atheist. We believe that there is a God, that He exists, but we live as if He did not exist, and that is to walk in the dark.
It is possible to be a Christian but to walk in the dark ignoring God. Juan starts with this problem because it is one of the most widespread and common problems. You can lose the benefits of God’s presence in your heart and in your life by ignoring the light.
But how do people really do this, do I mean turn off the light and walk in the dark? There are several very obvious ways of doing it. Some people stop going to church. The Word of God is a channel of the light of God because the Word itself is light. Penetrate and search; Search our inner life and expose it to our vision. If we stop going to church, we escape to light in that way. We no longer feel uncomfortable because of what the Word says. Another way is to stop reading the scriptures. An amazing number of Christians have simply turned off the light by not reading the Scriptures. Under all the excuses that they give for doing it, such as the lack of time and all the pressures, there really is a desire to escape into the light.
Another way is that they never examined themselves, which is an almost certain way of walking in darkness, since we rarely stop to examine ourselves. We never ask ourselves meticulous questions about where we are in the Christian life. The apostle Paul says: “Examine yourselves, to see if you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13: 5). Ask yourself: “Where am I?”
Father, grant me the faith and the grace to place me under the light, exposing myself to Your Word and being willing to examine myself.
Application to life
In what ways is it possible to be a Christian despite continuing to walk in the dark? Are we being exposed to the Word of God and willing to examine ourselves in its light?
