This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

These words from John tell us plainly that to walk in fellowship with God means that His light will make a difference in the way we live. It doesn’t mean we are perfect and sinless; but as we walk in the light, there is a cleansing and freeing work of His Spirit that purges us and helps us to walk in obedience to Him and in rich fellowship with other believers. Sometimes I will include Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase to help me in observing what this scripture really means. Here is his take on it from The Message Bible:

“This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.

If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.”

I find in these words a continuing call to walk in fellowship with my Creator and take the time to be in rich fellowship with fellow believers. This includes my own family, the people I work with, the people I’m mentoring and the church I pastor. This rich fellowship involves sharing about how the Light of the World is making a difference in my life. I need to keep letting His light shine on me so that I can walk in Him and allow Him to refine me and purge me of sin.

Dealing with my personal sin is a life long process of walking in the Light and allowing Him to show me how to walk each day in fellowship with Him and in loving obedience to His will. I don’t want to be stumbling around in the darkness and not even realize it. This means that I need to have a humble heart before Him and will listen carefully for His voice.

Thank You, Father God, for being the Light of the World. Thank you for including me in this invitation to daily fellowship with You. Come Lord Jesus and fill my heart with your love and light today. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can walk in your light and allow You to show me the way to rich fellowship with You and with your people. Free me from my selfishness and tendency to go my own way. Help me today to be dependent on your will so that I won’t stumble around in the dark.