byDo you know that fellowship with God and with one another as believers in Christ is so important? Yet, it is one of the spiritual treasures the devil works so hard to eliminate in people’s lives. Many people have time for everything else except their own prayer and Bible study time. Some find it hard to even come to church, if not at all, at least on Sundays. Why are all these things happening? Maybe some of us don’t treasure divine fellowship that much, and that is one of the main purposes of my writing this article, inspired by 1 John 1:5-7. Let’s delve deeper.
Verse 5
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
1 John 1:5 (NKJV)
In this verse, Apostle John speaks of the truth about one of God’s entire makeup: light. He says, “…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Think about that for a moment. You see, wherever there is light, opaque objects that block the free flow of the light rays cast dark shadows. Right? You’ve probably experienced this several times when walking in the sun in the afternoons. But for transparent objects, the light rays are able to pass through without casting any shadows.
The question is, why do the opaque objects cast shadows? It’s because they are too thick and filled with materials that prevent light from passing through. Meanwhile, the transparent objects may have thick material, but they are made so plain that they don’t cause a stumbling block to light.
You must not be convinced to believe that God is the reason behind the atrocities in your life. He may have allowed it in order to use it to teach you something valuable in eternal life, but that situation is not from Him.
Now, if there is no darkness in God, does that mean God is transparent? No! God, being light, means that He is filled with goodness, so much so that there is no trace of sin in Him. Even when He kills people (usually in the Old Testament), He is still good. That is why you must not be convinced to believe that He is the reason behind the atrocities in your life. He may have allowed it in order to use it to teach you something valuable in eternal life, but that situation is not from Him.
Verse 6
“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 (NKJV)
Now that we have understood that God is light, what is next? For His light to influence our lives as we keep fellowshipping with Him. Let me explain that using this analogy. The scripture says that when a couple gets married, they embark on a journey of two becoming one in everything (see Genesis 2:24); right? That’s a process. It takes some time for the couple to reach this level in a good marriage. Great couples who get to this height are usually said to resemble each other, according to some studies. God, the creator of the marriage institution, meant for this fellowship to be the same between Him and us, His children. That is why scripture says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (KJV) that,
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
The more you develop a deeper intimacy with God, the more you become like Jesus. So, 1 John 1:6 says that anyone who claims to be in fellowship with God and still walks in darkness (continues to do evil things, usually in private) is a liar and not a practiser of God’s truth. Beware of such hypocrites because they are in many churches now.
Verse 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 Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7 (NKJV)
On the contrary, when you have fellowship with God and walk in the light (of God), it’ll also reflect in your fellowship with one another. Since God is light, you’ll not dream or think of speaking or wishing evil against another child of God. Even parents don’t want their siblings to fight one another. So, how much more God? Does that mean that there won’t be problems in our relationships with others? Sure, there will. But the blood of Jesus Christ will wash us from all sins (faults) we may do consciously or unconsciously to others. If you have suffered from a church hurt, forgive right now!
You’re a blessing!
