God is light. Since God is light we must put aside our sinful way of living. To say that we belong to Christ, but then go out and live how we want is hypocrisy. We cannot have fellowship with God, Who is light, and yet walk in darkness. Walking in darkness means that we are not seeking God’s will and striving to obey God’s law. Darkness is a description for hiding things that, we know, are wrong. The cover that we provide for our secret sins or our hidden motives is darkness. Any attempt to circumvent the truth is a work of darkness.

There is a difference between saying and walking. We may say we are in right relationship with God. We may say we have repented. We may say we have forgiven another. But when our lives continue to show our old habits of sin or unforgiveness, we are living a lie. If we tell ourselves and others that we have repented, yet we continue our same patterns of conduct, we are only deceiving ourselves. Walking in the light is allowing God’s light to beam inside of you to remove every impurity that will hinder your fellowship with God. Walk in the light, and you will see areas of your life, which need further cleansing. Darkness is the absence of life. Walking in the light means that you are open to God. You are not afraid to expose any aspect of your life to Him.

To walk in darkness denotes a sinful lifestyle, persistently engaging in actions that God hates. The term walk is often used as a metaphor for daily living. Scripture lists behaviours commonly associated with living in darkness, such as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these,” (Galatians 5:20–21). Living in darkness revolves around self-centeredness, satisfying personal desires (Ephesians 2:3; Romans 1:24–25). The opposite of walking in darkness is walking in the light. To walk in the light, you must be transformed and regenerated by the word and spirit of God. Through Christ’s redemptive work and the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, we move from the kingdom of darkness to that of light (Colossians 1:13-14).

God’s light produces sanctification within. Walking in light produces daily sanctification within us. Just as Jesus’ blood washed us of all our sins, so does Jesus’ blood practically cleanse us from all sins. Progressively, as we walk in the light, Jesus works to purify our lives.Because we are in the light, we should “walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8). Your manner of life should reflect your claim to know God; otherwise, you rightly appear as dishonest. “You lie,” as 1 John 1:6 says. God stands in contrast to darkness, evil, error and imperfection. Light carries a moral function and determines what is right and what is sin. This is why John continues: “There is absolutely no darkness in Him.” All that is of darkness is excluded from having fellowship with God. Darkness has no place with God.

It does not matter what you say you are. What matters is what you do. You can claim to be in fellowship with God, but if your life does not reflect it, then you are lying and not practicing the truth. Many claim the name of Jesus Christ, but do not seem to claim the life of Jesus Christ. To call ourselves disciples, believers and followers of Jesus, our lives must reflect Jesus.
Nugget: Practice what you claim. Prayer: Lord Help me to live what I say.
• Prayer lines: 08033299824.E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. (Dr.) Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God, Nigeria