We've got that in common!
If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. (I John 1:5-9)
Sharing is a concept parents teach their kiddos from an early age. Sharing is really the action of each taking part in the use or enjoyment of what one of the parties in the group has. In some cultures, all things are put into common storage and then are distributed from the common resources to meet the needs of everyone in the community. We may consider "sharing" as what we do when we have a little of what someone else doesn't have, giving it to them so they can get use of it or enjoy it as much as we have. Either way, the idea of "common use" or "common benefit" from what one has to share is to be considered as something we should engage in.
We come into the light Jesus that brings into an otherwise pretty dark existence. If you ever stop long enough to consider what it was like before you experienced Christ's light in your life, you probably stand amazed at all the ways he has "enhanced" your life in ways you never thought possible. His light did more than just brighten our darkness - it dispelled it from areas of our life we didn't even know there was darkness within! What we didn't possess, Christ brought - light and life. This life we now live is possible because of what Christ brings and "shares" in our life. The resource of his life is something we partake of not through any effort of our own, but all because of his effort. It is like the one who hunts or grows grain for the entire tribe in order that the entire community will partake of it. All did not work for it, but all enjoy it as it has been provided so there may be "common enjoyment" of it. We do not work for what we enjoy so much in this life with Jesus - it is given freely so all may come into common enjoyment of it.
We not only have new life in common, but we also have this "washing away of our sins" in common. We find ourselves grace-filled because of the actions of another on our behalf. As a child, mom had to wash me in the tub - simply because I could not see where I needed to be washed, nor did I realize the benefit of being in the tub. I was content to live in my dirty state - but she knew how much better I'd feel after the bath. I think Jesus kind of works that way in our lives at first - washing over us with his grace time and time again - not because we know where we need it to flow, but because he does! Grace has a way of creeping into the crevices of our lives - even where we don't realize we need it to go! Grace actually knows no bounds. It isn't shy about going into "dark places" in our lives - washing away the things which gathered there that no longer belong hidden. Grace doesn't uncover what is hidden to expose it so we will experience pain, but because we all have one thing in common as it comes to our sin - we need to be free of it and we cannot do it alone.
Grace can be trusted - even when the confession is hard. God affords to us from his vast resources in renewed grace for all past sins, present sins, and future sins. The truth is - we will continue to sin, maybe not in the same ways as we did 'before Christ', but until the day we find ourselves walking in his presence, we will still struggle with temptation and require grace to both overcome it and walk away from it. Grace isn't exactly light, but it is an adjunct to light. God's presence is the light we receive - his grace is the enabling force which helps us to walk in this light and to enjoy the freedom light brings. If you have ever stumbled a little in the dark of night, you know how "halting" your walk is when you don't know exactly what is in the room in respect to where you are. God's light is what removes the darkness, but his grace is what enables us to walk freely. We may not all speak the same language or go to the same church. We may not all dress alike, or even have the same interests in life. One thing is for sure - we all have sin in common and we all need to experience the freedom of his love, light, and grace. Just sayin!
Sharing is a concept parents teach their kiddos from an early age. Sharing is really the action of each taking part in the use or enjoyment of what one of the parties in the group has. In some cultures, all things are put into common storage and then are distributed from the common resources to meet the needs of everyone in the community. We may consider "sharing" as what we do when we have a little of what someone else doesn't have, giving it to them so they can get use of it or enjoy it as much as we have. Either way, the idea of "common use" or "common benefit" from what one has to share is to be considered as something we should engage in.
We come into the light Jesus that brings into an otherwise pretty dark existence. If you ever stop long enough to consider what it was like before you experienced Christ's light in your life, you probably stand amazed at all the ways he has "enhanced" your life in ways you never thought possible. His light did more than just brighten our darkness - it dispelled it from areas of our life we didn't even know there was darkness within! What we didn't possess, Christ brought - light and life. This life we now live is possible because of what Christ brings and "shares" in our life. The resource of his life is something we partake of not through any effort of our own, but all because of his effort. It is like the one who hunts or grows grain for the entire tribe in order that the entire community will partake of it. All did not work for it, but all enjoy it as it has been provided so there may be "common enjoyment" of it. We do not work for what we enjoy so much in this life with Jesus - it is given freely so all may come into common enjoyment of it.
We not only have new life in common, but we also have this "washing away of our sins" in common. We find ourselves grace-filled because of the actions of another on our behalf. As a child, mom had to wash me in the tub - simply because I could not see where I needed to be washed, nor did I realize the benefit of being in the tub. I was content to live in my dirty state - but she knew how much better I'd feel after the bath. I think Jesus kind of works that way in our lives at first - washing over us with his grace time and time again - not because we know where we need it to flow, but because he does! Grace has a way of creeping into the crevices of our lives - even where we don't realize we need it to go! Grace actually knows no bounds. It isn't shy about going into "dark places" in our lives - washing away the things which gathered there that no longer belong hidden. Grace doesn't uncover what is hidden to expose it so we will experience pain, but because we all have one thing in common as it comes to our sin - we need to be free of it and we cannot do it alone.
Grace can be trusted - even when the confession is hard. God affords to us from his vast resources in renewed grace for all past sins, present sins, and future sins. The truth is - we will continue to sin, maybe not in the same ways as we did 'before Christ', but until the day we find ourselves walking in his presence, we will still struggle with temptation and require grace to both overcome it and walk away from it. Grace isn't exactly light, but it is an adjunct to light. God's presence is the light we receive - his grace is the enabling force which helps us to walk in this light and to enjoy the freedom light brings. If you have ever stumbled a little in the dark of night, you know how "halting" your walk is when you don't know exactly what is in the room in respect to where you are. God's light is what removes the darkness, but his grace is what enables us to walk freely. We may not all speak the same language or go to the same church. We may not all dress alike, or even have the same interests in life. One thing is for sure - we all have sin in common and we all need to experience the freedom of his love, light, and grace. Just sayin!
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