But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
I John 1:7
God is a being of light (I John 1:5). This is clarified in the same passage with the statement that there is no darkness in Him. Darkness is the very thing that separated man from God in the beginning. Man was told not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. We disobeyed--an act of darkness. This sin brought death into all creation. We became a broken people trapped in a life of being separated from God and His light.
Not only did being broken affect our relationship with God, it also affected our relationship with others. The history of man is filled with all manner of atrocities that we have committed against each other. Even though we have become more educated, more knowledgeable, and have so much more ability to do things today than long ago, yet the root problem has never changed. We are still broken people living with other broken people.
Jesus came to set it right. He came not only to reconcile us to God, but also to heal the relationships that we have with one another. Jesus proclaimed that our vertical relationship with God must work into a horizontal relationship with each other. He said that we must love one another as he has loved us. (John 13:34) He said that loving our neighbor is second only to loving God. (Mark 12:30-31) Jesus placed so much importance upon this that He said if we know that we have a broken relationship with someone that we should go and fix it before we seek to bring our good things to God. (Matthew 5:24) That is serious stuff! Jesus wasn't joking when He stated that we need to forgive others or we will not be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14-15) The question isn't what they did. The question is "How much did God forgive?" Faced with that truth, its time to reconcile and forgive.
The bottom line is that God wants us to be connected with others. Our relationship with Him is useless if it doesn't work into the lives of others. But when we find ourselves purposing to live and do as God has called us to, then we will find ourselves living in forgiveness and enjoying others because we will recognize that we are all sick, broken people in a hospital seeking attention from the Great Physician--Jesus.
Blessings to you!
Comments