Walking in the Light
One of my co-workers once spoke of the effect oflight on different kinds of insects. Moths fly to the light, and cockroachesrun from it. He was simply saying that light attracts and light repels. It isthe same light in both cases.
The title of this paper comes from the seventh verse of thefirst chapter of John: “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, wehave fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies usfrom all sin.”
However, the definition of light is found two versesearlier. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God islight; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship withhim yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (1 John1:5-6).
God is light, andin Him there is no darkness at all.Some of us have been in places where there is no light at all. Even for those who are not afraid of the dark, aftera short while they begin to get scared.
However, none of us has ever been in a place where there isno darkness at all. We like to be in places that are a mixture of sunshine andshadows, light and darkness. God uses these expressions to tell us spiritualtruth. For instance, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that youmay become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked anddepraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you holdout the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I didnot run or labor for nothing” (Phil. 2:14-16).
If you have been on a U.S. Navy ship at sea or if you havebeen in a teacher’s room at an elementary school, or in any office, or in anymanufacturing plant or in any home or church or anywhere where there are two or more people, you have almostcertainly heard and/or participated in complaining.
Complaining seems to be a social norm rather than aphenomenon. “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron”(Exodus 16:2).
One of the most common complaints is, “That’s not fair.”This is a thought that supposedly appeals to the highest standards of virtue ormorality, i.e. fairness. This may be a shock to you, but fairness is not aquality of God, nor is it from God.It is not like the fruit of the Spirit, nor is it justice or mercy. It ishumanism. When we use the phrase “that’s not fair,” we are saying thateverything is not equal, but it should be equal. The person who says, “That’snot fair, has suddenly set themselves up as the judge of right and wrong. Hehas also become the judge of everyone else—God, father, mother, boss, roommate,and anyone else who doled out this “unfairness.”
As an exercise in studying Jesus’ view of fairness, pleaseread the following:
For the kingdom of heaven is like alandowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day andsent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morninghe went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will payyou whatever is right.’ So they went.
He went out again about noon and aboutthree in the afternoon and did the same thing. Aboutfive in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. Heasked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
‘Because no one has hired us,’ theyanswered.
He said to them, ‘You also go and work inmy vineyard.’
When evening came, the owner of thevineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages,beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
The workers who were hired aboutfive in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receivemore. But each one of them also received a denarius. Whenthey received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and youhave made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heatof the day.’
But he answered one of them, ‘I amnot being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired lastthe same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to dowhat I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
So the last will be first, and thefirst will be last. (Matt. 20:1-16)
Did you identify with the complainers, ordid you identify with Jesus? If you start with fairness as the standard, therewill be many things that you will not like about God.
Some years ago, a man was executed in thestate of Washington. There were two groups of protestors outside the locationof the execution. One group was very much against capital punishment. The othergroup was, at least in this case, very much for the death sentence.
Before the man was executed, he was shown ontelevision. He said that he had received Jesus Christ in prison and that he hadbeen forgiven by God and was going to heaven. This made the people who were forhis execution very angry. They did not want him to go to heaven. The othergroup also was not happy because he died physically. To them, life on earth wasmore important than everlasting life. Neither group thought it was fair. ButGod’s view of justice and mercy isnever the same as fairness.
There is a solution for complaining aboutfairness.
"Do everythingwithout complaining or arguing." (Phil. 2:14)
"And whatever youdo, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, givingthanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)
"Whatever you do,work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col.3:23)
"Give thanks in allcircumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18)
The solutions are simple: 1) do everythingin the name of the Lord Jesus, 2) to the Lord Jesus, and 3) give thanks ineverything. It is difficult to complain when you are doing these things.
However, you may find this difficult topractice, even if you realize the truth of it and the need for it. If you arecoming out of years of complaining about everything, then giving thanks in everythingis a big turn-around.
Before you can start giving thanks, you needto repent of your years of complaining. Confess and forsake the complaining.Otherwise, you will be trying to obey on top of a pile of unforgivendisobedience. That just will not work.
Once you are clean, then you can give thanksand do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.
How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships
