What Fellowship Can Light Have with Darkness?

"I am in the world but I am not of the world."

These words have been said many times yet still need repeating. I am in this world. I am to bring the presence of Christ to this world. I am to live in a way that brings light to the world.

But I am not permanently bound to this world. It is not my "forever" home. It is a temporary place in which I should not attempt to make permanent. I get myself in trouble every time I do.

It is important that I do these things. It is important that I realize the value of bringing people to Christ. It is important that I live a life pleasing to Him. I do so because of the relationship I have with Him. It isn't just a desire to get to heaven. Making this world more than it should be will hinder my relationship with my Lord.

Thus, it is important that I do not make partnerships with those who do not know the Lord. Yes, I work with those who do not know the Lord. Yes, I do business with those who do not know the Lord. But, no--emphatically NO!-- I do not bind myself to them. Binding myself will make me a part of what they are doing.

Each of us has to sign contracts for services we have. We have a contract with our cell phone companies, our cable providers and our home security systems. These are common agreements that loosely bind us to these companies. The  relationship we have with them should be severed when we find them acting illegally or unethically. We are giving our tacit approval when we continue to do business with them while others are hurt. Light and darkness cannot share the exact same space.

Therefore, we should not make direct partnerships with unbelievers either. These are those with whom we must do daily business. We do not marry those who are not believers because our partnership cannot bring fellowship. It causes us to participate in a world this is not our permanent home. It brings us pain because "until death do us part" means a whole lot more when our spouses are not believers.

I used to think that I was an island all to myself. I thout  that my actions are merely my actions but I do not believe that anymore. I am connected to other believers so much that my actions affect the actions of the whole group. I am connected to my wife. My actions affect her all the time. My walk with the Lord especially affects her. Hers does the same for me. We have the same Lord, the same home and the same destination.

I am more than simply glad that my wife is a believer. I don't know how I would have coped with life without her infusing light when I drew toward darkness. I don't know how I would have tackled life's struggles without her encouragement of faith. What would she have had to tell me if she had no faith? How could she really helped if all her encouragement came from the wisdom of this world?

Many people reading this blog may have an unbelieving spouse. This blog is not intended to put them down nor to point out why they shouldn't have married the person they married. It is intended to encourage those with believing spouses to thank God for their spouses. It is intended to urge those with unbelieving spouses to pray for their salvation. It is intended to warn those who are unmarried to wait for a believing spouse.

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) ¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?