There is no darkness AT ALL...

An interesting read for me it was, as I went through the book of 1 John where I was told that if I claim to have fellowship with him (GOD) yet walk in darkness, I lie and do not live by the truth.

Allow me to call to your attention the reality that Jesus came to this earth  to practically demonstrate how our faith should transform both our thoughts and practice. What it therefore, means is that, as we are called unto God's light, we should strive to stay in that light.

1 John 1 vs 5 - 10 clearly show what we ought to do with our lives if we have to walk in the light.

Verse 5b says: God is light; In him there is no darkness at all. This means all the time. There is not a single second that our Lord is at fault, neither does he walk in perverse ways at any given point - no matter how tempting the situation is.

How many times have we compromised on our faith and acted innocent, justifying our actions - "I had no choice". We always have a choice. We were given a choice. There are two lanes to walk on - one is wide and many follow it, the other is narrow, and a few are willing to take the perfidious route.

Why we opt for the easy route merely lies in the fact that we want the easy way out all the time. But growing up, I was brought to the realisation that sweat is actually sweet - if only directed in the right direction of course.

There is great fear in darkness, but light liberates!

Verse 6 goes on to say "IF we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth". Take note: IF WE CLAIM.

To claim means to state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof. So many of us are guilty of merely claiming our allegiance to God, yet we act otherwise.

How many times have we acted, or rather, how many times have we stepped out of our doors into the world with a T-shirt professing of how great our God is yet in our everyday living, we are killing many souls? How many times have we worked so hard to gain favour from the Pastor or Church Steward, yet  out of their sight we act disgustingly, or better still in Shona ( my mother tongue) zvinonyangadza?

This is the unfortunate reality that we live in. We need to make a deliberate, radical shift in our minds so that we begin to walk the talk. To act the claim. Not before people, but before God first, and ultimately, before the people for God's Glory.

In as much as we all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, we ought to strive to pursue our calling to worship and serve God with all our minds, soul, heart, strength and spirit. We need to learn to do this, and like raising one's arms for 5 minutes is difficult but doable, we ought to strive to lead a holy life by all intents.

As we go further with that chapter, one realises that we deceive ourselves IF we CLAIM to be without sin and thr TRUTH is not in us. What we then need to do, is to confess our sins because he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness.

Verse 10 now says, IF we CLAIM we have NOT SINNED, we make HIM out TO BE A LIAR and HIS word has NO place in our lives. Guys, this is real. This is powerful. This is so deep.

IUn him there is no darkness at all, and our claims do not make him change. if we then make claims, let us, by all means lead a worthy life so that we do not provoke God otherwise we store for ourselves condemnation.

let us pray

"Lord Jesus, we are sinners. oh God, we are not worthy, but we thank you because your ways are truth, your ways are light, your ways are clear. Thank you for the word that comes to nudge us into realising the truth of your character. Forgive us when we have taken our worldly, sinful attributes and assigned them to you. Teach us your ways oh Lord, that we may walk in Truth and give us an undivided heart that we may fear your name, so that ultimately, we may enter you rest, forever and ever, Amen.