Home Keys

Can you read this familiar passage from the Bible? You can't? That's strange. I only moved my fingers one key to the right of the "home keys" on the keyboard. Just a little variance - hardly worth mentioning, and yet it makes reading what I've entered virtually impossible.

This really happened to me the other day. I was typing away, with my eyes on the text from which I was copying. When I looked up and saw what was on the computer monitor, I was shocked. I immediately looked down at my hands, still resting on the keys, and laughed. I had, somehow, moved just one key to the right of the "home keys" as I typed. What a difference a change in position had made to the finished product. Of course, I had to start again from the beginning and do it correctly.

The more I thought about this incident, the more a spiritual parallel took shape. As we walk the Christian life on this earth, we have "home keys" to follow. If we stray from these "anchors", we are no longer traveling the right path.

Light

Light is the first "home key" we will examine. The passage that is typed incorrectly in the first paragraph is 1John_1:7. "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." In order to receive the "continual cleansing" from our Savior, we must stay in the light. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John_8:12)

We need light to give us direction. "Then Jesus said to them, A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going." (John_12:35) The apostle, John, explained the difference in John the baptizer and Jesus, in John_1:6-9. "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world." To walk in the light of the Lord simply means to follow His commandments, and we are told that they are "for our good" (Deuteronomy_6:24).

Not only are we to walk in the light of Christ, but we must reflect His light to all those we meet. In Matthew_5:14-16 we read, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. "The only way we can do this is to stay on our "home keys" and put on the "armor of light" (Romans_13:12).

Truth

The second "home key" is truth. When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, He replied, "For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate then asked, "What is truth?" (John_18:37-38) Jesus answered that question in (John_14:6). "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

We can conclude then that if we are to be "of the truth" and Jesus "is the truth" we must be "in Jesus" if we are to remain in the truth. We are commanded to worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John_4:24). This simply means to worship according to God's plan, not some man's invention. Let us always keep our hands on the home key of truth.

Faith

Faith is the third "home key" at which we will look. The definition of faith is found in Hebrews_11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is that belief that we have in God and all that He has revealed in the Scriptures. To walk with our heavenly Father takes trust in His word, without having to "see it to believe it." 2Corinthians_5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." If we are to be pleasing to God, we have no choice but to remain faithful. Hebrews_11:6 states, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." The apostles knew this, and pleaded with Jesus to increase their faith. (Luke_17:5) We (like them) should pray daily for the Lord to keep us fastened to the "home key" of faith.

Love

This, of all the "keys" we've mentioned, is spoken of the most often in the scriptures. This is a command for all those who will follow the Lord. 1John_4:8 says, "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." When Jesus was on the earth He told his disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John_13:34) How much did He love us? Romans_5:8 reads, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

When the lawyer asked Jesus (Matthew_22:35-40) which was the "great" commandment, the Lord gave him two "home keys" by which to live: In fact he told him that "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."