Walking in the Light

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'” (John 8:12, ESV)
“The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”(John 12:35-36, ESV)
There is so much to be said about producing the fruit of the Spirit and it seems so little is known about how to go about producing the fruit. Some people think that once a person is born again into Jesus Christ, he or she is filled with the Spirit, once and for all, and that magically fruit production begins. According to some, if a Christian isn't immediately a peaceful, joyful, patient person, then that is clear evidence that the person is either lacking the Holy Spirit or is unconverted. (Some miss the point made by Paul in Romans 8:9 that anyone who does not have the Spirit doesn't have Christ, either.)
I enjoy walking more than just about any form of exercise, save perhaps jogging. Due to school changes and after school activities, while in high school I often walked, almost every day, from school back home, hoping to get a ride from a neighbor who lived out where my folks had their home. It was almost 8 miles one way and though I didn't have to often walk the entire 8 miles, I usually walked half or more of the distance. I am thankful for that experience because it made me into a person who loves to walk. Now the point I want to make is this: if you have never walked much, the first excursion can be downright painful. But as you continue, day after day, you build muscles in your legs and you learn a rhythm that actually makes the exercise enjoyable. You become more productive. It even becomes exhilarating.
So it is when we walk with the Lord. If spiritual fruit production were to be automatic, why are there so many scriptures in the New Testament encouraging us to walk in the light, to produce spiritual fruit, or to put aside sin? Why?
Are you familiar with Ephesians 5:18-21? These verses, so often wrongly used to talk about aspects of worship, are really talking about the Christian walk. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (ESV) Doesn't sound like a Sunday morning worship service to me. The original language basically says, “do not continue getting drunk with wine,. . . but continue being filled with the Spirit. . .” One habit needs to be broken and another needs to be put in its stead. A heart that is being filled over and over again with the Holy Spirit is a thankful heart, in every circumstance. A heart that is being filled with the Spirit is a heart that is full of song. The early Christians came out of Judaism, out of worship in synagogues. In those religious services, even to this day, there is a person called a “cantor” who literally sings the scriptures to the audience. Early Christians didn't have hymnals as we have, but had spiritual songs, the Psalms, and other hymns that they knew by heart. The Holy Spirit through Paul is encouraging Christians to even address one another with the words of those Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. They would be singing those songs in their hearts as they spoke the words to another brother or sister.
If our hearts are not filled with the good things out of the Word of God, how can we expect to produce spiritual fruit? If our hearts are not filled with Jesus, how can we say we are walking in the light? Make no mistake about it: there will be many who profess to be Christians who will take a hard fall during the current worldwide upheaval that is upon us. Very few people will come out of this unscathed and some have already taken their lives because of great financial loss. But if we so live our lives, forgiven and covered in the blood of Jesus, we will be in the light. We will have light to share with others. We will have Jesus. And the world is hungry for the light. They are longing to see the light that comes from Christians who live their lives incarnadine, blood-colored from the blood of the Lamb.