The Light Beyond the Wall

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

There is a scene from the movie version of PINK FLOYD’S THE WALL (1982), where the main character, Pink, has hit rock bottom with drugs and violence and dwelling too long on his many childhood scars. It’s a dark story, about a broken man hiding away eventually inside his mind (the metaphorical wall). He sits in a dark hotel room, so still that the ash from the cigarette between his fingers burns all the way down without falling. I think of this image a lot, especially when we as Jesus’ followers talk about living together in the light.

Living, together, in the light.

Bob Geldof’s fictional Pink personifies the opposite of this. In the end, he is alone in the dark. If you and I are being honest, we’ve been there once or twice (or more) in our lives.

That’s the beauty of gathering together on Sunday as worshipers reaching for our Savior, and once a week in our smaller, more intimate groups. In today’s verse, John writes how urgent it is to walk in this light. Jesus has always done this. During his time here as a human He spent a lot of time bringing people (and spirits) out of dark places into the light of his kingdom.

Walking in the light.

We sit a lot in church, true, and when we get together for other reasons, too, but we are not called to sit in the light all day (beach vacations notwithstanding). The apostle John tells the Church that if we walk in the light and have fellowship with one another - in other words if we walk in the light together as the family of God, Jesus will purify us. That’s what happened, in fact, when we stepped out of our own darkness to follow Him.

Finally, walking is an action.

How do we walk in the light? We live our lives opened like a book for all to see. We’re broken people saved by Grace, meeting with similarly-busted brothers and sisters, and we do it with joy and laughter. We see someone in need, we walk over to them and share our light. Sit with them, listen, talk and pray with them.

Here’s the thing: joy, laughter, serving others, sharing a kind word, visiting the sick, praying for your children, cooking dinner when all you want to do is take a nap - all of this is light. Jesus uses the like He has given us to draw out those people still sitting in the dark; people lost behind their own self-imposed walls.