My Journey of Faith Part 10
Walking in the Light is Necessary
I don't know about cultures worldwide, but life is hectic here in America. So many things happen simultaneously: relationships, situations, and circumstances; they just come at us so fast that we hardly have time to figure everything out.
Time and meditation are more valuable than we often realize. It's alarming that a significant percentage of self-identified Christians lack a biblical worldview, and a majority of churchgoers are unfamiliar with the Great Commission. These statistics point to an urgent and pressing issue of biblical illiteracy among us, demanding immediate attention and action.
How on earth can any person navigate the treacherous waters of Satanic lies in a fallen world if you don't read and read the correct material?
Walking in the Light Demands a Good Eye
As Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23, 'The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" This verse underscores the crucial role of reading the Bible in keeping our spiritual 'eye' clear and our lives filled with light.
The lamp of which Jesus speaks is a hand-held lamp that lights only a small area to avoid stumbling. The word clear, as used in verse 22, means single or undivided. God hates impurity. He loves it when people stick to what they say after learning what they need to know. When Jesus says full of light, He is speaking about a brilliant light, describing the revelation of light. The Lord is unhappy with people who go through life with a carefree attitude about the most essential part of life."
The most severe warning from our Lord in the passage before us is, 'If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!' He does not ask a question but exclaims with a profound statement. If you are sure that you know something and you're wrong, Jesus said, '...that is a great darkness!' The consequences of spiritual darkness are grave, and we must strive to avoid it at all costs.
Walking in the Light of Darkness, I Woke Up
As I mentioned in a previous article, in the late 1990s, I founded and directed Teens Under Fire, a drug awareness program geared toward Middle and high school students. At that time, I was assistant pastor at a church headed in a different direction than it appeared.
A huge lesson I learned during this juncture of my Christian walk was to always be on the alert about what is happening in church culture. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." A term unfamiliar to me when I joined the church was "Seeker sensitive." The category of the church that dumbs down the message more than ever previously and disregards the teaching of Christian accountability so important to Jesus He spoke about it in the Gospels Matthew 16.
At that time, churches began popping up that completely disregarded Jesus' command for accountability, in love approaching a brother about sin and following the prescribed method that could lead to severing ties with the community of believers. Before this atrocity, I had been displeased with the lack of action on the part of church leaders since the 1970s; now, it was becoming a beast.
Walking in the Light Can Be Heart-breaking
On one occasion, I called a meeting for anyone wanting to join another member for support, intimate fellowship, and accountability. I talked about how it should work and asked them to pair up two by two. One woman came over to me, who I highly respected and who was one of the more sincere Christians walking in the church. She wanted to pair up with me, but I told her I did not pair up with any women.
She was nice but persistent, and she needed to talk to me. So I told her okay, let's go to the chapel and talk. She told me that it had been years since she had been with a man; after recovering from drugs, she thought it prudent to give herself entirely to God until she matured more in the Lord. Attending Narcotics Anonymous has a definite downside because while there are people who understand the drug problem, immorality can be rampant. I was told a man who was very nice to her but was persistent about them getting together, and in a moment of weakness one night, she gave in and found it very difficult to live with what happened.
I told her she needed to separate herself from him completely, be sure she gained control of her emotions through the Lord, confess her sin to the Lord, and receive cleansing and restoration through the suffering and resurrection of Christ.
To my amazement, she returned to me and said the pastor and a leading woman in the church spoke to the man, got a quick prayer to receive Jesus, and pushed them toward marriage. I have had many disappointing conversations with church leaders over the past fifty years, but the one with the pastor and the lady involved was incredibly distasteful.
It was not too long before my wife, and I decided to move on from that circus. Two years later, my wife attended a women's conference, where she met that same woman who told my wife, "I am so sorry I didn't listen to your husband." She was already divorced by that time.
Walking in the light consists of being aware of what goes on in the church, correctly understanding what God has said about our behavior as His people, and avoiding any association that could corrupt our interpretation of God's word and make our behavior different from what He has ordained as acceptable.
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