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Scripture for the day: 1 John 1:7 If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Thought for the day: Doris got it wrong when she sang:
“Que sera, sera,
whatever will be will be;
The future’s not ours to see,
Que sera, sera.
She may have been right when she said the future’s not ours to see; that’s certainly true. Most of us can point to examples of our lives unfolding in drastically different directions than we ever would have imagined. My own journey has certainly worked itself out in a vastly different manner than I absolutely knew it would when I was 25 or so years old. Never in my wildest imagination could I have planned the course I actually ended up following. Never.
Look again at the verse we’re considering today. The first important proposition we find is this: “If we walk in the light…” Now, this seems to me to imply we have the possibility of not walking in the light. In other words, we have choices to make; we are free moral agents and have the ability and the power to make our own decisions. Those decisions determine the direction of our journey through what we call life. Let me give you a few examples.
Cain and Abel each brought a sacrifice before the Lord. Abel chose to offer what was acceptable to God. Cain chose a different path. Esau was more interested in a pot beans than the blessings of God, and sold his birthright to his brother, thus changing the direction of his future. One day a Publican and a Pharisee decided to go to the Temple at the hour of prayer. While there the Publican decided to pray, while the Pharisee stood in a prominent place and recited his pedigree. Each made a choice – one of many they would make each day – and each choice helped determine the direction of the path they were on.
Perhaps the largest two-letter word in the dictionary is that colossal word “IF.” This word always carries with it a decision to be made, not once and for all but over and over as each step is taken. Look again at what John said: “If we walk in the light …” What light? What kind of light is he talking about here? “As He is in the light.” Well, Bill, I can’t walk as Jesus walked, not completely. He was, after all, perfect and sinless. True enough, but He’s not asking us to walk in all the light Jesus had. The Lord is directing us to walk in all the light He has given us. Jesus possessed all light and He walked in that way. In the same way, we are to make the conscious decision each and every day to walk in all the light He has given us. There is no spiritual dawn or dusk. We are either walking in the light or we aren’t; it’s our decision.
And what is the reward for making the decision to walk in the light? “We have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Oh, my friend, do you want to experience real victory today? Walk in the light Jesus has given you and rely upon Him alone to direct your footsteps, and the Bible promises fellowship and peace. As one preacher from years gone by has said, “The fact of salvation, the freedom from sin, the fullness of the Spirit and the fellowship of the saints meets our needs at the deepest level.”
In the midst of temptation, trials and testing, simply making the determination to walk in all the light we have will assure the future, whatever that may look like.
Now go take on your world. - Bill