In
the Light
God is
light, in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5. Darkness has no substance, in fact it really
doesn’t exist, it is simply the absence of light. It’s no wonder that God describes evil as
darkness or simply something that doesn’t exist without the absence of light
(God). When you sin, you are ushering in
the absence of God, and the longer you hide that sin the longer you are
God-less. It’s easy to measure darkness
or sin when you look around and see morals declining, marriage being
obliterated, lives being taken in the name of choice, and murder, molestation,
and rape on a daily basis. But where
there is any darkness or sin, it is simply the absence of God in that person’s
life. So when you told that little white
lie that “didn’t hurt anyone”, or when you spread that piece of gossip, or when
you lashed out in anger at your children, or when you harbored bitter thoughts
towards a person who hurt you, or when you had lustful thoughts towards someone
who is not your spouse, you embraced the darkness and the absence of God in
your life.
Jesus
said, This is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the
truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has
done has been done through God." John 3:19-21. It’s easy to use labels for people who
struggle with things on an ongoing basis like alcohol or drug use or pornography,
but how often does one have to lie to be called a liar, or gossip to be called
a gossipaholic, or lash out in anger to be called an anger addict?
But if we
walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1John 1:7. The blood of Jesus purifies us from sin while
we are walking in the light. It’s not that
we don’t sin; it’s that we are willing to recognize it and do something about
it. This is what allows us to be in the
light rather than stumbling around in the darkness all the while pretending
that we are in the light. Jesus said in
the Sermon on the Mount, “You are the
light of the world”, not you should try to be the light of the world, but
you are. Is that true in your life, are
you in the light and showing that light to others or are you hiding in the
darkness (absence of God) and pretending to be light?
A
young Marine and his commanding officer board a train headed through the
mountains of Switzerland. They can find no place to sit except for two
seats right across the aisle from a young woman and her grandmother. After a
while, it is obvious that the young woman and the young soldier are interested
in each because they are giving each other “looks.” Soon the train passes
into a tunnel and it is pitch black. There is a sound of the smack of a kiss
followed by the sound of the smack of a slap. When the train emerges from the
tunnel, the four sit there without saying a word.
The grandmother is thinking to herself: “It was very brash for that young soldier to kiss my granddaughter, but I’m glad she slapped him.”
The commanding officer is setting there thinking: “I didn’t think the young Marine was brave enough to kiss the girl, but I sure wish she hadn’t missed him when she slapped and hit me!”
The young woman was sitting and thinking: “I’m glad the soldier kissed me, but I wish my grandmother had not slapped him!”
The young Marine sat there with a satisfied smile on his face. He thought to himself: “Life is good. When does a fellow have the chance to kiss a beautiful girl and slap his commanding officer all at the same time!” (Illustration borrowed from Alan Smith www.abiblecommentary.com)
The grandmother is thinking to herself: “It was very brash for that young soldier to kiss my granddaughter, but I’m glad she slapped him.”
The commanding officer is setting there thinking: “I didn’t think the young Marine was brave enough to kiss the girl, but I sure wish she hadn’t missed him when she slapped and hit me!”
The young woman was sitting and thinking: “I’m glad the soldier kissed me, but I wish my grandmother had not slapped him!”
The young Marine sat there with a satisfied smile on his face. He thought to himself: “Life is good. When does a fellow have the chance to kiss a beautiful girl and slap his commanding officer all at the same time!” (Illustration borrowed from Alan Smith www.abiblecommentary.com)
It’s
difficult to know what is happening in the darkness. (as shown by three of the
four characters above) There is no light to gain proper perspective. Without God intentionally in your life on a
daily basis you may be blind to your own darkness. I pray that your walk today may be in the
light of God’s love.
In
Christ, Lance
