Frances Ridley Havergal :: Fellowship and Cleansing

TWENTY-NINTH DAY - FELLOWSHIP AND CLEANSING.

"Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord."

It is not only the Spirit but the Bride who says, 'Come.' (Rev 22:17) And it is remarkable that the Bride is never found saying 'Come' without including herself. 'Come with us;' (Num 10:29) 'Come, and let us join ourselves unto the Lord;' 'Come, and let us return unto the Lord;' 'Let us come boldly.' It is always 'us,' expressed or implied, though the speaker be patriarch, prophet, or apostle. And you may be very sure that those who venture to say, 'Come' to you, are truly and deeply feeling the need of continual coming for themselves. (2Co 5:14) If the Master's call were not sounding very fresh and sweet in their own hearts, they would not be constrained to sound it out to you.

'Come ye,' then, 'and let us walk in the light of the Lord.' (Isa 2:5) This is one of the blessed results and tests of true following, as following is of coming. For the Lord says, 'He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' (Jhn 8:12) And the results of this walking in the light are fellowship and cleansing; and these, when fully accepted, are all that we can need for the brightest, happiest pilgrim course. '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.' (1Jo 1:7) This is not merely fellowship with other Christians, though that, with all its warmth and pleasantness, is no doubt included. (1Jo 3:14) But scholars tell us that the true meaning is that we and the Lord have fellowship with each other-a marvellous mutual interchange of sympathy, interest, and love. 'Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.' (1Jo 1:3) Fellowship implies a good deal more than even friendship; the word is really 'communion,' in, its widest and yet closest sense. It is literally having all things in common. It is the Lord saying, 'Thou art ever with Me, and all that I have is thine.' (Luk 15:31) It is our responding, 'My beloved is mine, and I am His.' It is, 'All are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' It is the present fact, which yet we cannot fully apprehend, till 'at that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and he in Me, and I in you.' (Jhn 14:20) 'Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord,' (Isa 2:5) that this glorious fellowship may be ours. (Rev 3:4)

But there can be no fellowship without the cleansing. For how 'can two walk together, except they be agreed?' And sin is the one great obstacle to this agreement. (Psa 66:18) God never makes peace with sin. No armistice, no truce, no compromise is possible! If you would read through Jeremiah or Ezekiel with your eyes open to observe what God thinks of sin, you would be perfectly startled. It leaves the impression that no language can convey His indignant loathing of 'this abominable thing which I hate.' (Jer 44:4) But this one precious promise shows it all in a moment. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin! 'If anything less than the blood of His own Son could have cleansed us, would He not have spared Him? (Rom 8:32) Nothing shows us the exceeding sinfulness of sin like this one word.

But oh, thank God for the 'all'! As nothing less than the blood of Christ is needed for one single sin, so nothing more is needed for all sin. Ask the Holy Spirit to open out this one word to you. (1Jo 1:7) 'All' the sin cleansed by it,- 'all' that separated between you and God put away by it,-you yourself made nigh by it, and sanctified by it,-(Eph 2:13) the fellowship will be unbroken, the light will be unclouded, the following will be faithful, (Zec 10:12) and the coming will be sealed.