“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Just before this verse, in 1 John 1:5, we read that our God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Then in 1 John 1:7, walking in light is tied to walking in fellowship with one another. In other words, to walk in fellowship with other believers - we need to be walking in the light. If we’re not walking in the light, we are probably hanging out with the wrong people.
Looks Like ...
When I was growing up, we always had a canary and every canary we owned was named Dickie. We loved to hear our canaries sing. It was my job to feed Dickie every day and, after I cleaned his cage on Saturdays, I would sit for a while and listen to him sing.
However, Dickie never knew when to stop singing. If we let him, he’d stay awake and sing all night. If we wanted a little peace and quiet, or if we wanted to watch TV, we had to cover his cage with a heavy cloth and block out any light. We have no idea if Dickie went to sleep or not when he was covered, but at least he finally stopped singing.
In Matthew 5:15, Jesus said we are to leave our light uncovered – even put it up high on a lampstand. We are to be intentional about letting our light shine. And, just as the higher you place a lamp … the farther the light shines, we should always be looking for ways to let our light shine in greater and broader ways.
Too many believers have covered their light and hid it under a basket. Instead of walking in fellowship with other believers, they are more comfortable having fellowship with people who are not walking in the light. We need to spend time with friends who are not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk in the light.
Ask Yourself ...
Who do you call when you need someone to talk to, or if you want to spend time with a friend? What kinds of things do you like to do together? Are your friends walking in the light? Do you walk in Christian fellowship together?