Live in Reality: Practice the Truth
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1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but 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.
Truth has been the focus of my blogs this year. I have been so encouraged this year as I meditate on truth, and I hope you’ve been blessed by walking with me on the journey of practicing the truth by walking in love with Jesus. This month, let’s draw insight from the passage above in 1 John 1:5-7.
God is Light
1 John 1:5-7 highlight the relationship between truth and love. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Amazing! The life of God dwells in all of those born of God—the life of light. John wrote in his gospel, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4).
God is Love
God also is love. 1 John 4:7-8. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” When God is present, a light shines in the hearts of those who are His. They have hearts to express the indwelling life of Christ through love. Therefore, He is their light, and His light is the light of the world. When His light shines in and through them, they live to love with Jesus, and practice the truth.
God’s Love is Light
Knowing that God is light and God is also love leads us to deduce that the light of God is love. Light reveals the way to walk or live. When I was 18, I served on summer staff at Windermere Conference Center in the Ozarks of Missouri. There was a cave with a system of pathways and rooms that begged to be explored. After several visits, I became familiar with the paths that led to some really cool rooms with waterfalls and pools. There were also small streams that wound through the mountain and dead-ended. As staff recreation director, I organized a tour of the cave for the summer staff. Most everyone came prepared with a pullover and a light of some sort.
I was the first one in and the last one out. And I do mean LAST ONE. After everyone passed through the last room and began the crawl of the last 50+ yards, my friend and I waited until we were sure everyone was safely on their way. While we were waiting, his flashlight died, but I had a lantern, so we were not alarmed. Then it happened. The lantern also went out! We were enveloped in total darkness. There were nine exits from the room, but only one led to the outside. We wandered into a couple of dead-ends, where we had to turn around. What were we to do with no light?! Pray!
After seven hours we made it out—on hands and knees, feeling for patted down mud and sand indicating the way. After much guidance from the Lord, and head-butts into cave walls, we escaped the darkness. I’ll never forget the feeling of warmer air and enough light from the street light at the opening of the cave to see the walls of the cave. It was a miracle that we made it out alive around two in the morning. Never has light meant so much to me. As soon as we had light, we could see where to walk. That’s how it is when we are born again and know God. We have light to reveal the truth.
Love Reveals The Truth: God Is Light
When we have fellowship with God, we have light to see how Jesus loves. The truth is that God is light, and those who know Him love with Him, because He is love. If we say we have fellowship with God, we practice the truth by loving. We are testifying to the world that God is love—it’s THE TRUTH.
Let’s consider what light does. It chases away the darkness. It reveals what was hidden in the darkness. It shows the way. It brings warmth and life into this world. That’s what the love of God accomplishes as it is revealed in Jesus Christ, and we can have the same impact in our world as we live to love with Jesus. In contrast, someone without light can’t see the way to love. If we say we know God, but walk in darkness—meaning that we don’t love our brother—then we are lying about knowing God and about what God is. We are not practicing the truth about God.
Lack of Love = A Lie
We are encouraged not to be liars or hypocrites. If God is light, and Jesus is God, and Jesus is living through us as we abide in Him, there can be no darkness. Follow my line of reason. If God is light and walking in the light is walking in love, then walking in darkness is using God, this world, and people for selfish ends.
We can see this more clearly as John contrasts darkness and light. 1 John 2:11. “But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” When we act in unloving ways while saying that we are Christians we are lying about the life of Christ and not practicing the truth.
Love Is Knowledge in Action
John told us the truth about God. He is light. Simply knowing that God is light is an insufficient testimony and proclamation about God. Yes, we need to declare that we have fellowship with the Father and with the Son, but it is our walking in love with Jesus that proclaims the truth. Love is light in action. It’s living to love with Jesus that proves that Jesus lives and that God is light.
In verse 7, John described the actions of a faithful, true believer in Jesus Christ. It seems so simple and clear. We prove that we have fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son if we walk in the light. It is evident from the Gospel of John and from his first epistle that in John’s mind, walking in the light is the same as living to love with Jesus. Jesus is in the light, and if He lives in us and we have fellowship with Him, we will walk in the light—we will walk in love.
It is the truth that you are cleansed from sin if you walk in love.
The last line of this verse is intended to give great assurance to those who have the life of Jesus revealed in them through love. As John described the Christian life of love, he assured those who live to love like Jesus that they are cleansed by the blood of Jesus from every sin. The practice of love in a life reveals someone who knows by experience the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. They know they are loved by God, and they can’t help but love those that He loves.
This is not a verse of prescription, it’s descriptive of someone who has the life of Christ within them. They don’t love so that they can be forgiven of their sins. A Christian is a person who loves because the blood of Jesus has cleansed them from sin, and the life of Jesus shines in the darkness. We love because we have been forgiven much.
How about you?
Is this verse descriptive of your life? For those of you who answer yes, rejoice in the Lord! Give God thanks and glory for what He’s done for you through Jesus Christ. May this encouragement today stimulate you to love Him more and love your spouse, children, and work associates with Jesus more.
For those of you who know that this verse does not describe you, I want to encourage you. In the knowledge of your sin and powerlessness to change yourself, look to the cross of Jesus Christ, where his blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Leviticus 17:11 says that the life is in the blood, and Hebrews 9:22 states that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. This is how John knew that God is light and that His light is love. John wrote later in 1 John 3:16 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” May the God who is light and love open your heart to receive his love and his life revealed at the cross. Be washed in his blood, so you can have eternal life—Jesus Himself—and live to love with Him. He will transform your life—taking you from darkness into His light—the truth of God. You do this in prayer. You are in His presence. Look up to Him, and tell Him you wish to exchange your life of sin and death for Jesus’ eternal life. If you believe Jesus’ death sufficient payment for your sins, then receive total forgiveness from Him with thanksgiving.
I hope you are encouraged and inspired to live to love with Jesus and walk in the truth that God is light. By God’s grace, let’s not live a lie, but let His light shine! If you want more encouragement in how to walk in love, please visit www.livetolovewithjesus.com to receive free resources. Also, I invite you to listen to my daily podcast, Live to Love Scripture Encouragements, found on iTunes and Spotify.
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