In 1 John 1:7, the Bible contains an interesting verse with a promise: ‘But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’
When I decide to obey God’s commandment to love one another, which Jesus gave us three times before His death, I understand that I need at least one friend who has made the same decision regarding me. I do not go into the world to look for such a person. He must walk in the light, and we must share one faith. Fortunately, there are very many unusual people like us, but like salt, we are scattered throughout the world to preserve it from corruption. The world does not even realize that because of our presence within it, the Lord restrains His cleansing judgments, although in some places this merciful attitude toward human lawlessness is already becoming impossible.
Then we notice each other and decide upon mutual love. This is the most interesting and beautiful beginning of any friendship and any relationship. Although we do not know what will come of it, we are prepared to venture into this lifelong experiment. The light in which we already walk becomes our shared possession, and we willingly share our personal revelations.
Having become accustomed in our solitude to fellowship with Jesus, we do not lose this connection with Heaven when entering a new friendship, but bring it into our relationship. We know how the Lord convicts us of our sins and how He does this through various direct rebukes, through His Word, and through our conscience. But how will He cleanse us from all sin within our friendship? We understand that if we begin judging one another, searching for each other’s faults, and pointing out secret sins, our relationship will die very quickly. Our love will grow cold because iniquity has abounded. We will lose interest in communicating and soon forget the decisions we made regarding one another.
Not everyone enjoys being judged and rebuked, especially for something of which they are not guilty. Yet people tend to see their own spiritual problems in others, and being subjected to such an assessment is extremely unpleasant.
Love teaches us to treat our neighbors tenderly and maintain friendly fellowship in which we conduct ourselves very carefully, understanding that our unkind words can destroy our relationship.
Yet fellowship with a friend exists and continues naturally. Through it, we discover another person’s world and share with him our experiences and the secrets of our souls. Although my friend cannot always help me, the closer he becomes, the deeper I desire to welcome him into my heart. Once you have taken him into the depths of a personal relationship, you realize how close you have become within this spiritual union of love and friendship.
As I fellowship with a friend, I share my experiences of victory over sin. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, I may indirectly point to something wrong in his life by explaining how I discovered lawlessness within myself and how I struggled against it, overcoming it through the power and grace of Christ. It is not I, but the Holy Spirit Who begins stirring my friend’s heart through my experiences of victory and drawing him to repentance. My friend understands that he needs power from Above to abandon his vices. He turns to the Lord of hosts for help and receives it. The blood of Christ washes us from every sin we discover within ourselves under the influence from Above. Later, my friend tells me how my experiences convicted him, how he repented, and how he is now clean before God in this matter. I rejoice that the Holy Spirit used me in this way and lovingly accomplished what I could never have done. I judged no one and never even intended to rebuke anyone.
While listening to my friend’s stories, I sometimes understand that the Holy Spirit is also addressing me and desires to expose a secret sin known only to me. Yet under the influence of my friend’s words or attitude, it has become clear to me, and I must do something about it. I understand that my sin is repulsive to God, and I come to Him in secret prayer or decide to ask my friend for prayerful support. Then together we confess my sin and ask for a blessing and power from Above to overcome every evil.
Our mutual love reveals much that is good and some things that are not good. Sometimes it kills evil within me at the very root without calling it by name, boldly planting its banner and resolving problems at the subconscious level.
We spend joyful time together in a friendly relationship without even realizing what a tremendous work God’s love is accomplishing within our hearts because of our heartfelt attachment to each other. We love one another from a pure heart, and within this love all our inborn vices—things we do not even want to name—dissolve.
Our knowledge of the truth helps us build our relationship in the right spirit and in the light of God’s law and sound judgment. All our feelings remain under the control of reason and will. Although we are not deprived of pleasant experiences or hormonal attacks, the light in which we walk firmly restrains everything taking place within us. We are honest with each other and are not afraid to speak about the inner processes of our hearts or about our thoughts and feelings, because we desire support and understanding from our friend. This very fellowship protects us from many temptations.
It should be noted that if my friend is of the opposite sex, we immediately establish boundaries in our communication and discuss them soberly, agreeing to maintain our friendship within the framework we have established. This protects us from every temptation. Modern means of communication help us maintain our relationship and living fellowship even when we are very far from each other.
The friendship and love between us will not necessarily lead to marriage, but will continually gladden our hearts with their newness and with amazing discoveries of new depths within the relationship. Yet starting a family with someone whom you do not love and do not know as a friend is a rather risky undertaking. We should not hurry or make hasty decisions in this matter.
Love and friendship are possible even over the telephone. They are in no way less than love and friendship experienced through in-person contact with a friend, while distance protects us from many temptations.
Our fellowship is diverse. It has no particular laws or rules and depends upon what we desire to make of it. When the apostle John wrote his epistle, he did not mean daily communication through modern technology. He was making it clear that fellowship between friends must exist and that it must take place in the right spirit and light.
We ourselves choose the subject of our fellowship, how frequently we will speak, and how long our conversations will last. Sound judgment, mutual agreement, and purity of heart in the light of God’s law must be present in everything.
Jesus gave us this commandment for our happiness, and He adds His blessing to our love and friendship, participating in everything we build within our relationship. The Lord knows that our love for one another makes us fit for heavenly life among holy beings. They eagerly await our return home, but do not want to be placed at risk by our closed and hardened hearts.
Love for one another teaches us to live according to the laws of Heaven, which we will enter very soon.
Bible Verses for Reflection
1 John 1:3–10; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 13:4–8; 2 Corinthians 6:14–16; 13:13; 1 Peter 1:22; Romans 12:9–10; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 3:5; Colossians 3:14; Philippians 2:1–5.