Fellowship in Light

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we 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 his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7

Have you ever been “it” for the pool game Marco Polo? Isn’t it odd to be so separated from everyone else who can see when you are supposed to tag them with your eyes closed? It can easily feel discouraging, like you will never be able find anyone else to tag.
Or have you ever played hide-and-seek in the dark? This might seem a little better. At least everyone is in the dark in that game, right? But it can be just as lonely when nobody knows where anyone else is.
According to John, separation is the effect that darkness tends to have on fellowship.
Yesterday we read that God is light! So if we ever desire to have a relationship with Him, we have to step out of the darkness and into the light. The only problem is that, as Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This means that everyone in the whole world starts out in the darkness because we all sin, and sin separates us from God. And even though we are all in the darkness, that doesn’t mean we can keep each other company in the darkness. Instead, we are all lonely like in a huge game of hide-and-seek in the dark. There is no fellowship with either God or other people in the darkness, only loneliness.
But do you remember the good news we talked about last week—the gospel? Jesus is the answer! Jesus is the key to getting into the light. Even though we all deserve the darkness, if we believe in the power of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross when He sacrificed Himself for our sins, then Jesus promises that through that blood we are cleaned so that we can step out of the darkness and into the light where God and other believers are. Through Jesus we can have fellowship! We can have relationships!

Questions for discussion and reflection
1. Is there any darkness left in your life?
2. How does your fellowship with God affect your relationships with others?

Dear God, thank You so much for the fellowship we are able to have with You and other believers through Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for the perfect community that Your light creates. Jesus, we pray over all of those who are lonely in darkness, that we might be used as Your hands and feet to help show them how to enter into the fellowship of Your light. Amen.