If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;” vs. 6
1 John 1:5-7
Evidently there were some folks in the communities John was writing to who believed that our behavior as disciples of Jesus really didn’t make that much difference. They reasoned that perfection, walking in the light, was too high a standard and that people shouldn’t beat themselves up if they wandered from the Way of Jesus or were content with lower moral values. That’s not an unusual ethical stance. The old saying, “everyone is doing it” is regularly heard among us and is used to excuse every kind of aberrant behavior. It’s just not true that everything goes in the community of the faithful. No matter how acceptable our dark behaviors may be in our culture they will ultimately destroy our fellowship. This isn’t to say that we will always be perfect. Of course we will sin and miss the mark as we live and work in the world. If we could be perfect, there would never be any need for forgiveness! But embracing our sin and walking in the darkness just doesn’t work. Most importantly, it damages our relationship with God, the One whose essence is Light, and whose Son is the Light of the world. Our basic call is to be children of the Light and to glorify God by enlightening the world.
Thought for the Day: What’s it like to walk in darkness?
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