1 John 1:5-7
When we go to a local restaurant our children like to take the chocolate mints we get after the dinner, eat the chocolate, and then re-form the wrappers so they appear to contain the candy. By appearance they seem like a great little treat, but in reality there is nothing there.
This message from John stresses how we are to live and act when we accept the death and resurrection of Jesus. Simply knowing that Jesus rose from the dead does not make us who we should be. Where did John get the message? What is the message? What is the difference between walking in the light and walking in the dark?
As the years pass I am more and more convinced that the title we give ourselves – “Christians” – means nothing if we do not live as Christians. The term “church” means nothing if we do not act as a church. If we are to claim Jesus as Savior, if we are to believe that Christ rose from the dead, and that through his sacrifice and resurrection we are given a new life, then we must live as if we believe it. Living a sinful life while claiming to believe in Jesus is as much of a falsehood as the empty chocolate wrappers.
In God and in His Son Jesus is no darkness. There is no evil or sin. There is only light – goodness, kindness, compassion. There is only honesty and goodness – that is, doing what is right and beneficial to others.
If we claim Christ as Savior, if we truly believe in the resurrection, then we are called to live as people who believe these things. We are called to avoid sin, to strive to live as holy people. We know what is right and what is wrong. It is up to us to embrace the right and shun the wrong. If we continue to knowingly and deliberately commit sin we lie and we do not have the fellowship with God that we should.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to be certain you walk in the light?
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