Walking In The Light

This morning I thought I would start working through John's first letter.  Its been a while since I worked through John's letters.  I like John's uniquely personal perspective.  This morning I am meditating on the following passages - 1 John 1:5-7 NIV:

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. [6] If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. [7] 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."

You could probably write a book about these three verses, as the richness of the metaphor of light vs. dark just can go on and on.  John's language here proclaims the nature of God in very simple yet profound terms.  He is primarily talking about sin, and God's sinless nature.  the Greek word translated sin is the work Hamartia or Hamartano (in this verse the first) and the word is defined as follows:

1. to be without a share in
2. to miss the mark
3. to err, be mistaken
4. to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong
5. to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin

The question, when I read the definition (first three entries), is what am I missing, without share in or mistaken about?  I believe the answer is God's will for our lives, which is quite a bit more than just the Law.  Jesus explained in Matt 5-7 how you can follow the Law, but still be sinning, as sin and God's will involves our heart and mind as well, not just our actions.  In John's Gospel Jesus talks about obeying His commands and maintaining relationship with Him, "remaining in Him" as critical to our walk and acceptance by the Father.  The whole of this theme swirls around relationship, God's character and our lives.

If I define the goal or the target as "God's perfect will for my life" then the first three definitions make decent sense.  I can be totally outside of God's will for my life, I can miss that target  by a little or by much, I can be mistaken or erred in my understanding of His perfect will.  Continuing, I can miss or wander away from that path, and ultimately be in violation of God's law.

If the goal is God's perfect will is the measure, than it is impossible for there to be any "sin" in God, for His will IS His will.  Nothing and no one can make God do anything other than His will.  He is perfect in that measure, thus there is no darkness or sin at all.

John goes on and says if we claim to have fellowship (relationship) with God but are walking totally outside of His will, we are lying, and do not live out of the truth (which incidentally IS Jesus - John 10:10).  If I don't know God, how is it possible to live my life according to His will and purpose?  Relationship is much more than knowing about someone, it is actually based on interaction with that other individual.  If I never talk to another, or listen to them, how can I be in their will?

Moving on, if we walk in the light (in relationship and trying to follow His will) then the Blood of Jesus cleanses us of all of our sin (missing the mark, erring, wandering, missing our share, etc).  In other words, if we are working to really be in relationship with Him, His love for us, as demonstrated by Jesus' death and spilling of His own blood, will provide forgiveness for any time we don't obey His perfect will for our lives, past, present and future.  Not only that but we are joined into true fellowship with one another (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and each other.

So, in my mind, sin is all about missing God's will for my life.  The invitation is to relationship with Him, and in relationship Jesus' blood is applied to the totality of my life and cleanses me of my sins (missing the mark, etc). Relationship is something that is continual, regular and willful.  I can't say a prayer one time and think that I am in relationship.  In fact, I think that would be a good example of verse 6.  We can't just take the name of Christian and then do what we want (See Matt 7: 21-23).  We must endeavor to follow His will to the best of our ability, and maintain relationship with Him.

I am encouraged today to continue to press into God, walking in the Light, uncovering the riches of relationship that are available, and working hard to follow His will in my life, as I understand it.  His perfect will is the best possible path for my life and I would be foolish to do anything else.