Today’s devotional tells of a missionary on a ship during a dark night. He woke up to the frantic cry of “Man overboard!” He rose from bed, grabbed a portable lamp beside it, and held it at the cabin window. He couldn’t see anything but was told the next morning that the light from that lamp was enough for those on deck to see the missing man and rescue him.
Two thoughts come to mind. One is that old song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” No Christian knows what God can do with even our smallest actions.
Second, illumination from God often comes through small actions. Someone says something kind or thoughtful. A sermon includes a verse I needed to hear. Someone presents a gift without realizing I’d been praying for that very thing. I’m tired and a parking place empties close to where I’m going.
Mostly, God uses His Word to shed light on my attitudes. His light is often surprising. Others may not notice, but He knows when I need light to get out of a shadow.
He says I am part of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that I may proclaim the excellencies of him who called me out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
God’s illumination grants the ability to understand truth and live by it. Darkness in the natural realm is debilitating. In the spiritual realm, it is even more devastating as it describes living in unbelief and sin and not having a clue what is happening.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:5–6)
This passage is often used to discern between Christians and unbelievers who are blind to the light of Christ’s glorious gospel. Yet note John uses “we” giving the sense that some who walk in darkness know enough to say they are in fellowship with God, even though they are lying about it. Jesus said of such people, "They love darkness and reject light because they don’t want their evil deeds to be exposed.” (John 3:19–20) 1 John suggests even believers can know we should acknowledge and confess our sin, but pride keeps it from happening.
The darkest blindness is this: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) However, rejecting light is not the same as being so blind that there is no realization that light exists.
Bottom line: John writes to Christians telling us not to turn from the light, never to fake it, to act as if I am in fellowship and walking with Jesus but am hanging on to some sin, saying it is not there, or refusing to confess it. Lest someone says that is not possible, ask me how I know! Hypocrisy and back-sliding does exist in the family of God.
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 1:6–2:6)
Blindness may be a lack of salvation, but it can also be disobedience, a temporary deception, pride, failure to read the Word, ignorance or immaturity. In any case, the answer is in this passage. Stop lying, making excuses, and confess all sin to Jesus who is our advocate and the One who paid the penalty for it.
PRAY: Darkness is confusing and dangerous. Jesus, I need light from You every day. I cannot turn it on by myself, but I can respond to it. You save me from sin and enable me to walk in the light. What a joy that You give truth and understanding, a privilege and grace I cannot earn and do not deserve.
PONDER: 1 John describes what walking in light looks like. Read it often and let Jesus shed His light on any dark places and shadows He finds in me.
No comments:
Post a Comment