As long as you continue to grow, never accept others’ ‘definition’ of your Christian maturity. People do tend to do this to one another. Early in my Christian walk I learned about walking in the light I had – and I have learned that this is what’s important. Too often we (and others) look at how much more we need to know and understand – and, as long as this isn’t said with a critical spirit, this is true and should be an impetus to continue to grow. But in our growing… are we actually walking in the light we have?
I have experienced churches and people who seem to rush from one revelation to the next without seeming to grow or exact all they can. I appreciate that this appears extremely judgmental and perhaps it is but I somehow feel that it’s too easy to miss the Lord’s teaching if we only seek something ‘new’. Whatever had been said – is it applied? That should be an automatic question to all ‘prophesies’. Sometimes it is the exuberance of the speaker that whatever is said is assumed to be for all and sometimes it isn’t. Scripture tells us to be certain about prophecy: test the spirits (1 John 4:1), prophets are subject to prophets (1 Corinthians 14:32) and Peter warns us about false prophets (2 Peter 2:1). In many cases, I honestly believe it is our quest to be ‘spiritual’ that can trip us up – both those who are speaking and those who listen.
Light, in my world of definitions, is an ‘alive’ and growing reality. Once we understand and apply it then I believe we walk in our understanding, in the light we have. As you can see, I couple walking in the light with applying understanding. Matthew 5:16 provides us with one of the purposes for walking in the light: “Let your light so shine before me that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in Heaven (Jesus speaking).” And Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 5:8 – “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Walk. An action of witness.
I had a close relative that was concerned because they hadn’t know of or seen the light. I quickly reminded them that they walked in all the light they knew. And as they discovered more they attempted to put into practice the new. Actually, that’s what we all need to do. We need to continue to grow in our understanding and we need to walk, confidently, in the light we have.
“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.” (1 John 1:7) “He who
loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” (2:10)
