"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7).
What does this walk in the light look like? We know that it does not mean moral perfection. It does not mean you'll never experience temptation. And it is not some unattainable life only a select few real saints ever achieve. No, to walk in the light is a normal Christian life and experience. To walk in darkness is to try to turn off God and His light. To walk in the light is to want to live where God is, to have your whole life illuminated by Him.
The Example of Achan
Achan is an Old Testament example of someone who walked in darkness when they should've walked in the light. The people of Israel had God's help and power when they entered the Promised Land. God wanted to judge the nations and peoples of Canaan, and He used the people of Israel to do so. When they fought their first battle, it was against a city called Jericho, and God told them none of those spoils belonged to them. Later, they could inherit the wealth of the people's God judged, but not the people of Jericho. It was all to belong to God. Well, Achan didn't like God's command, so he hid a Babylonian garment and a wedge of gold in his tent. Eventually, his sin was uncovered, and he was punished and made an example of for the generations to come. But I have often thought about Achan's experience. How hard it must have been for him to carry that shame and guilt around! He had to live a lie. He couldn't wear the garment or spend the gold. Instead, he had to hide them. He was a shell of his former self. He was walking in darkness.
The Benefits of Walking in the Light
But walking in the light is so refreshing. First, notice how John says, "we have fellowship with one another." Achan had to fake his way through his life group ("Yeah, things are really going great.") Walking in the light produces fellowship with God, which leads to fellowship with one another. Second, notice how walking in the light leads God to cleanse us. John says, the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Achan had to mumble his way through prayer ("God, I love you and give my life to...ah, forget it.") He was out of step with God. But in the light, he could have been cleansed from his sin. But make no mistake: John doesn't imply that walking in the light saves us. Instead, he means it sanctifies us. Just as Jesus' blood positionally washed us of all our sins, so does Jesus' blood practically cleanse us from all sin. Progressively, as we walk in the light, Jesus works to purify our lives. You should have this hope. Since it damages our relationships with others, we should crave cleansing from sin. Sin hurts fellowship and causes us to run away from each other, to other churches or away from all churches, rather than give us a loving friendship together. Instead of living in darkness, hurting one another, we should believe a walk in the light will grow us, which helps fellowship.
"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day." (Proverbs 4:18). Every day is a witness to the power of the blood of Jesus Christ in your life. When the sun peaks over the morning's horizon, it is emblematic of the beginning work of Christ in growing and shaping you. Later in the morning, when the day has its early glow, it sings of the way Jesus is progressively developing you for His glory. And when the heat begins to pick up in the late morning, it speaks of the significant progress Christ has wrought in your life. And when the sun is at its full strength, when the noon-day sun is beating down on you, it preaches of the ultimate work Christ's blood can produce in you, culminating in heaven when you are in glory. As John would later write: "We know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:2). Walking in the light makes us brighter and brighter for God's glory. It produces fellowship and sanctification. And one day, we will be like Jesus, morally perfect, even in practice, thought, and action!