February 13, 2023 | Be On Mission
God is Light and Calls Us to Walk in Light
Scripture: 1 John 1 (NIV)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Devotional
So far in this study we have seen that Peter and John are front and center as the Christian movement gets underway. We have already explored the letters of 1 & 2 Peter to gain deeper insight into his mind and heart. For the next seven readings we will do the same with his ministry partner as we explore 1, 2 & 3 John.
Around the same time, he also wrote the Gospel of John. At the very end of this study, we will take a look at Revelation, another of John’s writings. All of John’s books were penned some 55-65 years after Jesus ascended to heaven, making John an aging man at the time. By then, likely all the other apostles had been martyred. John was living in Ephesus, which we shall see time and again in this study. He was sort of the “apostle emeritus” of first century Christianity.
In all of his Biblical works, John contrasts key themes, such as love and hate, light and darkness, good and evil. Also, John writes from an eternal perspective, looking all the way back to the beginning of time and all the way forward to the fulfillment of time. Take a moment to compare Genesis 1:1 with John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1. What is John trying to say?
Now, look at all of the reading from today again. What themes jump off the page? What is the competing force working against the goodness of God? What is the promise if we live our lives in the virtues? What is the result for camping out in the vices?
Poem
Experiencing God
1 John 1:3-4 MSG
It’s one thing to hear
From someone
About something
Exciting
Life-changing
Stupendous
But
To experience it
To witness it
To be present for it
With all your senses
Vibrating
Dazzling
Stirred-up
That
Dear One
Is to experience
God’s presence
God’s love
God’s light
God’s divine action
In your very
Life
Its seconds
Its minutes
Its fleeting hours
Changing everything
Leaving you
Speechless
Awed
Laughing
Over-joyed
