This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 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. 1 John 1:5-10
Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 42-44; 1 John 1
I’ve heard some folks say that Christianity can be hypocritical. That the whole forgiveness thing means that Christians can just act a fool and do what they want and then go to church and pray for forgiveness. How does this work? Why do Christians believe that they don’t have to be responsible for their actions?
Well one of the things that I love about Christianity is that it isn’t about our actions, but rather it is about our relationship.
The passage above is brilliant because it explains something that seems so complex in just a few short sentences. God is light and truth. There is no darkness in God. When we endeavor to have a relationship with God we are turning away from the darkness and walking into the light.
There’s no way that we can be perfect on our own. In fact we aren’t even asked to be perfect. God just wants to know us and or us to know him. He wants to live in us and all of the things that we do.
The thing that I have learned over the past couple years is that the closer I am to God, the better our relationship is, the more He informs my actions. When I am close He guides me in the right way. He helps me to make better decisions based upon love and giving rather than selfishness and greed.
The closer I am to God the more I allow him to heal my heart and spirit. It is through this healing that my actions flow.
Our actions are a reflection of who we truly are within. No one is pure good or pure evil. We are all works in progress trying to live the best life that we can possibly live.
For me that best possible life has turned out to be building an ever closer relationship with God.
I’m not perfect, nor am I trying to be anymore like I used to. But I believe that the more I try to be closer to Him, the better person I will become.
It’s a decision every single day to turn away from the darkness and walk into the light.
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