So, Jesus said to them, you will have the Light only a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light [keep on living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and overcome you. He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is drifting].
John 12:35 AMPC
We have talked about the fact that the day has its period before the night comes. I think we should consider more closely the necessity for a continuous walking and working while it is day. The Lord Jesus is calling out again from this passage that we should continue to walk in the light. We should also keep on living by it.
I perceive the Lord is drawing our attention to realize that another way by which darkness may overtake a man is when he refuses to continue to walk in the light. Though this is similar to the issue raised yesterday, they are not the same. The issue from yesterday’s passage is that the man has forsaken the Lord and is now walking in darkness.
But in this case, he has only stopped walking in the light. He may not necessarily be walking in the darkness. He is neither going forward nor is he practically moving backward. So, when a man fails to continue walking in the light, he would be overtaken by the darkness. Darkness did not stop pursuing him in the first place. Therefore, the moment he stopped keeping in step with Jesus, he becomes an easy prey and thus, the darkness overtake and overcome him.
In lieu of this, it can be said that such a man has not dipped his hands into iniquity. But he has stopped fellowshipping with Jesus. He has stopped reading and meditating on the word of God. Prayer has now become a forgotten exercise. Everything he needs to progress in godliness is no longer a thing of urgency to such a person. Darkness will inevitably overtake a life that does not persistently walk in the light.
For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light]. For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life. And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him]. Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them.
Ephesians 5:8 AMPC
Essentially, we need to continually walk in the light. Stopping gives darkness a chance to move in on a person. The fruit of the Spirit is a sign that a man is progressing in his walk in the light. The darkness is ever longing to have a believer. It is the believer that will make sure he does not stop walking in the light at any point. Every step taken in the light reinforces your connection to the source of all light and truth.
