Marriage Series - Walk in the Light

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

The apostle John sent a message to believers in what is modern day Turkey. In that message that we know as 1 John, the apostle described God in two ways.  First, John said, “God is light.” Then he said, “God is love.” John gave those who listened to this message a wonderful promise.  He taught that If we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light we will have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all sin. Wow! People all over the world long to have fellowship with others.  We all long to be known and understood. We all want to have friends who enjoy spending time with us, friends who share their lives with us.  We all hate to be lonely. We want fellowship with others.  How wonderful that the apostle John gives us a very clear instruction and promise to meet our need. He says if we want to have fellowship with others, we need to walk in the light. Walking in the light will allow us to have fellowship; walking in the light will allow the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin.

So, what does it mean to walk in the light?  To walk in the light is to do the opposite of what Adam and Eve did after they sinned.  They hid in shame. At that moment, they loved the darkness more than the light because their deeds were evil. In contrast, to walk in the light is live your life without hiding your actions from God or from the people you love. When we walk in the light, we reject sin and deception.  Our actions are plain for all to see. We tell the truth and we practice the truth.  Our yes is yes and our no is no. We do not deceive others. We know that God is our constant witness and so we live our life to please him.

So how does this teaching about walking in the light apply to marriage? Simple. If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with our spouse. If we walk in the light by telling the truth about our thoughts and our actions, we can have fellowship in marriage. If we walk in the light by rejecting deception as a tool for getting what we want, we can experience the trust of our mate. If we walk in the light by doing what we say we are going to do and by not promising to do that which we cannot do, we will be more likely experience peace in our homes. Conversely, if we deceive, if we fail to confess our sins, if we hide the truth from our mate, our actions will destroy trust. We will not have fellowship, rather we will live with a person who is always on guard, not willing to share thoughts, dreams, hopes, and wisdom with us.  We will be married, but instead of fellowship, we will experience deep loneliness.

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 (1 John 1:7).

Does your spouse trust you? Have you told your mate lies or hidden your actions to avoid criticism?  Let me encourage you with some other words from John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

My dear brothers and sisters, do not hide in the darkness, walk in the light with your mate. As you do so, you will set yourself up to experience growing trust, joy, peace, and fellowship.

 

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #WalkInTheLight