Where Do We Stand?

1 John 1:5-7, "This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

If we are intellectually honest in our study of the bible we come to the conclusion that their are only 2 ways in which we can walk; in darkness or in light. Darkness represents evil, and light represents God. In other words, we are either walking in the ways of God, or we are not. The ways of God are clearly defined by scripture, and everything and every way else is not of God. So the question we must ask of ourselves is clear: Where do we stand? In light? Or in darkness?

Their is no more important question we can ask of ourselves. And the evidence of where we stand will be clearly visible in our lives. When the bible speaks of a walk, it is speaking of how we live our lives. How do we carry ourselves? Do we exhibit the "fruit of the Spirit?" Do we love? Not a sentimental type of love, but rather agape love. Do we love God with all of our being? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we love each other as Christ loved us? Does the world know us by our love for one another? As John tells us later in his first epistle in 1 John 2:9-11, "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

Other "fruit of the Spirit" that will be evident in a person walking with God in their life are: Joy, an internal attitude from God that allows us to overcome even in the roughest times; Peace, obtained with God through faith in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross and the peace of God that stills us even when trials are present; Longsuffering, a patient attitude that relies upon the timing of God and bears one another's burdens; Kindness, where we treat each other with true respect; Goodness, where how we treat each other is reflective of God's word, as He represents what is good; Faithfulness, in our walk with Christ and our obedience to Him; Gentleness, as we desire to help each other and hold each other accountable in living a life in the light; Self control, where we put our desires on hold to honor His. These are the evidence that we are walking in the light.

But notice the warning John gives us in verse 6. He tells us we can say we walk in the light, yet if we do not display the evidence of this, we are a liar. We either practice, live out the truth of God's word, or we do not. John tells us mere words are insufficient as to whether we are truly walking with God. We either speak it and live it, or we lie. This is why we must ask ourselves the question; Where do we stand?

It is where we stand, in light or darkness, that determines whether we are living on God's behalf or not. It is how we walk that shows the world that we are truly His. What we say and what we do must abide hand in hand. God tells us through John, if they do not, we are liars. This is why we must all ask ourselves the essential question; Where do we stand? So, where we you stand? In light? Or in darkness? If we honestly examine our lives as compared with scripture, are we walking in light with God? Or, are we lying to ourselves and our Creator?