Living in the Light
I once had a close friend call me with whom I hadn’t spoken in a while. About twelve seconds into our conversation, she said, “So, I don’t want to do any small talk.
It’s a time-suck. Let’s talk about what’s really going on in our lives.” And so began a very honest and meaningful conversation about our faith journeys and life circumstances.
Having permission to be real within a trusting relationship is a gift and it is refreshing. We were created in the image of a personal, relational, and all-knowing God who desires for us to know Him. He desires for us to know Him as the father, son, and holy spirit. He desires for us to know Him by reading the Bible, which is alive with the truth. He desires for us to recognize him by His miracles and what he does in our lives. He desires for us to pray, worship, and search to understand Him better. Since we were made in His image and created to reflect His glory, we also desire to be known. The apostle John wrote about this in 1 John 3-7:
“3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (NLT)
The word ‘fellowship’ means to gather in pursuit of a shared intention - in this case, the shared goal of pursuing God. Our own pride and brokenness get in the way when we want to seem capable, strong, and in control. However, we are better off when we can find a place to be real and vulnerable. By connecting with other believers and being honest with each other, we can allow God’s kingdom to be tangible and alive. God has and will do such amazing things when we connect with each other and offer hope, support, a faith community, and compassion through struggles. Then we can better understand God’s compassion and hope, too.