Read 1 John 1:5-7 three times through, briefly recording something different that stood out to you after each reading.
First Reading: “Jesus is the light.”
Second Reading: “Correction: God is light”
Third Reading: “We have fellowship with Him when we walk in the light.”
While John doesn’t explicitly say what walking in the darkness means here, he implies something: When we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness, we do not live by the “truth”.
According to John, why is it impossible to have fellowship with God while walking in darkness? Explain his logic.
“Because ‘God is light: in Him, there is no darkness at all.’ Light and darkness can’t walk together – the latter is the absence of the former.”
What is the message? God is “light”; in Him there is no “darkness at all”.
What do you love most about each side of this coin or double truth?
God is light… “God is holy and pure.”
No darkness is in Him… “He isn’t just mostly holy and pure.”
Re-read verses 6-7. According to those verses…
What is impossible? “to have fellowship with light while walking in darkness”
What is possible? “to have fellowship with light while walking in light”
For a time I really wanted to live in the dark so I tried to make the dark work for me.
Briefly describe a situation where you tried to make a living in the darkness “work for you.” Did you simultaneously try to convince yourself you were staying close to God? What were the results?
“I’d like to think I’ve avoided the really dark behaviors, but I enjoy an occasional shadowy romp through some horror movie, or a questionable game of Cards Against Humanity. A little guilt I suppose.”
Genesis 1:3-4: What did God separate from the light, and how might this separation relate to John’s statement in verse 6?
“The darkness – the two don’t get along – each tries to overwhelm the other.”
Exodus 13:20-22: What did God’s gift of fire allow the Israelites to do beyond being able to see?
“Travel by night and know they were following God.”
2 Samuel 22:29: What does David call the Lord in his prayer and why?
“His lamp – He can turn darkness into light.”
Can you think of a time when choosing a path of darkness literally obscured your ability to see where you were going in life?
“Not off hand, no.”
I can’t let you go without another look at the benefits of verse 7. What two gifts of grace come with walking in the light?
“We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”
Dearest Rachel –
There’s not a whole lot for me to add to this, as this isn’t one with a lot of deep confessions attached to it. Even what there is has a little bit of me in there to feel guilty about; while I was never much for when you would watch horror movies (a trait you picked up from your dad whenever your mom was away for an evening), I always enjoyed playing Cards Against Humanity with you and whoever was willing to join us (which often ruled out Daniel or Erin, and was something of a staple to kill time with during lulls at the various anime conventions we attended; it could draw a crowd of people asking “Can you deal me in?” Why yes, yes we can).
That being said, a quick reminder that darkness literally cannot coexist with light is something we all need from time to time. We need to understand that is more situations than we care to admit, our choices are more binary than we tend to think they are, and the wrong choices make it harder to share space with the One who wants us to… until one day, we’re so far from Him that we ask why He abandoned us, only to discover that that was our doing.
At least now, you are no longer in danger of wandering from Him. But as for me, I’d ask you to keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 