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, emphasis added)

If you look up the definition of the Greek word for fellowship you won’t find the word friendship. You will, however, find several words that describe what friends share — association, community, communion, joint participation, intimacy.

You can’t be a true friend to your sister in Christ without fellowship.

How do we have fellowship? By walking in the light.

Huh? Yes, I know, our Christianese can be a little vague and confusing sometimes, so let’s pause for a moment and explore what walking in the light means.

1 John 1 says this:

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

In other words, walking in the light means we we are open and transparent with God about our sins (He knows about them already anyway) and we trust that He has cleansed us of our sins. Walking in the light also means we are open and transparent about our sins with our friends. [Read the rest of the post at DoNotDepart.com]