And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you: that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all. If we say, “We have sharing with Him,” but walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not do the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have sharing one with another, and the blood of Yeshua, His Son, cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1:5-7, mjlt)

The entire message and purpose of the Good News of Yeshua is predicated on the idea of sharing. God shares Himself with His Son, they share themselves with us (see John 17), and we in turn share the Messiah in us with our fellow man—both believers and unbelievers. But the most important thing we need to take away from John’s exhortation about the sharing is that we as Messiah’s disciples have the power and ability to short-circuit this critical process; “if we walk in the darkness, we lie,” and we block God’s light from ourselves, making us unable to share that light with anyone else.

Our ability to share the light of Messiah, then, is an exact reflection of the quality and character of our daily walk with Yeshua. When the drive to share Yeshua is lacking, it reveals the darkness and weakness of our walk. But when we have a strong, robust walk with Messiah, we will be compelled to share with others an empassioned testimony of His reality in our lives. It is this testimony that is required not only for the proclamation of the Good News to unbelievers, but also for discipleship and the building up of the Body. Consider the result, as Paul enjoins us,

…and I pray that the sharing of your faith together will become active in the full knowledge of every good thing that is in you toward Messiah. For we have much joy and encouragement in your love, because the inward parts of the Q’doshiym have been refreshed through you, brother. (Philemon 1:6-7, mjlt)

The sharing of the Messiah in you—testifying to your walk in God’s light—is how we spread the love of Yeshua; and without that sharing, both the proclamation of the Good News and the making of disciples is fruitless.

So then, in order to become useful, effective disciples of Messiah, we must reveal the character and quality of our walk with God through the sharing. If we are unwilling or unable to verbally share how we are walking with Messiah—if we are unwilling or unable to give testimony regarding our walk in Him—there is a problem with both our walk and our relationship with God, and we are left woefully unprepared to make disciples, and to help grow the Body of Messiah.

We need to remember that the goal of our faith is not an individualistic Bible-based lifestyle, but rather our selfless interaction with other people as representatives of the Master. Ours is not supposed to be an intellectual belief that we keep to ourselves; rather, we are commissioned to spread His message. We have to be able to talk not just about what our faith means, but about how walking with Messiah affects us every day—and we can only do that if we have a real and healthy daily walk with God.

So don’t just exist throughout your week, letting life pull and push you along. Engage with God and the opportunities He puts before you. Don’t be oblivious, but actively pay attention to what’s going on around you, reflect on your attitudes and decisions, and be aware of how well or how poorly you are living according to God’s Word.

Sharing with other believers about our walk with God through testimony is vital, because it builds us up and prepares us for the work of sharing the Messiah with unbelievers, thereby fulfilling our ultimate purpose in following Yeshua. God wants to use you to change other people’s lives; but it starts with being honest about the quality of your daily walk… and the life of Messiah in you.

…the mystery that has been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now was revealed… which is Messiah in you: the hope of the glory whom we proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Messiah. (Colossians 1:26-28, mjlt)

What do you think? Share your thoughts below.