“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:5-10 (NASB)
Walking in the Light requires us to embrace authenticity. And that takes practice - to again and again choose to look within ourselves at what’s really going on in us – the truth about our sin.
While the enemy will continually try to convince us that if we hide it, we’ll be okay. The reality is, it never worked well for Adam and Eve, and it still won’t for us today. Hiding from God puts barriers between us and Him – full stop. Beyond the scope of Salvation, which we receive by faith through grace, undealt-with sin that is active in our lives will continue to present a barrier in our relationship with God here and now. Hindering us from hearing Him clearly, and from God being able to bless us and work in and through our lives in the same way as if we were to fully consecrate ourselves to Him.
As we look to live to please God and not man, it certainly becomes easier (in my opinion anyway) to confess our sins to God in our time alone with Him, rather than confess to other people. But walking in the Light also requires us to live in authentic relationships with other Believers. We’re to love one another as Christ loved us. Can true genuine love happen without authenticity? I’m not saying that we shout out our sins from the rooftops for all to hear, but I am encouraging all of us, to have a trusted group of friends who walk alongside us that we can confess everything to.
Cultivating authentic relationships in the body of Christ allows for mutual accountability, where, in gentleness we speak to each other’s wrongdoings, restoring one another in Truth, back to the right path. (ref. Galatians 6:1-2). James 5:16 says to “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” We’re not meant to be independent from one another, but to be fully dependant on Christ and His Church, in unity, walking in the Light.
Personal Reflection:
Are there areas of your life that you’re hiding from God?
What Jesus-followers do you have in your life that you’re actively building authentic relationships with?
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