Walk Right!

Walk Right!

But if we keep living in the pure light that surrounds him, we share unbroken fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continually cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 TPT

The first and basic start point for any discussion about walking with or working for God is to know and accept this fact: God is Light. This was made very clear at Creation when the first thing God had to address was darkness. His first words were: "Let there be light". As light is his form and nature, and his words have power, light was made manifest. Light had to be in place for all of God's creation to be also be made manifest. It is therefore clear that darkness goes against all that God is, and no one can be in darkness and claim to be walking with God. Those are two parallel lines that can never meet, no matter how long you draw them or how hard you try to fit them together. I must check where I am and stand now, so that I can be sure that God can meet me there. If I have called him and it seems he has repeatedly not answered at all, I need to check my inner state and my environment: am I where God can meet me? Am I where his nature can embrace me? 

Truth can be evidenced, because He is a Person. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. All other truths take validity from His Truth, and whatever cannot stand to his Truth is not truth. One of his truths is that I am made for fellowship with God. The fact that he breathed on me is evidence that a part of him is in me, and that part will always yearn for God. The issue will be that if I do not find the True God, something else will fill it. It is a fellowship I am called into, not the quantum of solace, an abstract creation of imagination. I am called into a walk with God; a walk that reflects the priorities of the One who called and asked me to walk with him. My walk must match his nature. My daily life must reflect his life. 

It is called a walk in the light, not an occasional jaunt. I can't pick and choose when I walk, as I do not know the day of trouble that may be ahead. I have to keep walking in the light so I do not stumble. I need to keep depending on the light for guidance, direction and leading. It is a choice; God does not force a man against the exercise of his freewill, but from the evidence available in the Bible, no one walks with God and regrets it. A man who fellowships with God cannot fail to make impact for God. It's not about popularity or human applause, the type men of the world crave, but the fellowship with God that leads to salvation purification, sanctification and justification. 

These benefits from God must first touch me on a personal basis, before I can enjoy fellowship with other people who have also come to enjoy these benefits from God. Together, all of us share fellowship with God and one another because we all have been forgiven and washed from our sins. Our  past life of sin no longer holds us down; God has brought us into new standing with him. If I am still living in sin, how can I truly enjoy fellowship with people who are now trusting God for daily strength to live above sin? How can I love the things they love, if my heart's pursuits and priorities are not aligned with those that God promotes? I note that all the verbs in today's extract are all in present/continuous tenses: keep living, share unbroken fellowship, continually cleanses. All of these show that with God, he does not stop working; his nature is present help whenever you need it. 

When I consider all the benefits that have been listed here, I get the point that I am better off on God's side. His cleansing from sin empowers me to live the life that pleases him and reflects his grace. Is it not amazing that the Almighty God, full of power and grace, wants to have fellowship with me? It calls for careful consideration from me, so I know what I am getting into and what it would demand from me. God is Light; I cannot live less than God's nature. He wants to walk with me, but I also have to walk with him on his terms, not mine. I have been saved from sin; my best response is to live in daily appreciation of all that I have received from God. It is this fellowship that mirrors eternal life. As I fellowship with God down here, I get a foretaste of what eternal and unbroken fellowship with God in heaven looks like. Nothing down here can replace it. May I not settle for any cheap alternatives. God's time of favour is here.