AM I AFRAID OF THE LIGHT? (Living in the Light or the Shadows?)

I JOHN 1:5-7: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and 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 Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: Am I afraid of the light? The reality of the answer to this question might startle me. It is easy to slowly draw the shades of our heart over a long period of time and find that we are living in the shadows rather than the light. To live in the light means that the windows of our hearts are fully open to the Son of Righteousness. As John writes in His Gospel,

“In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:1, 4=5 NLT

As John now writes in his first epistle, “…God is light and in Him is no darkness…” So what about the “gray” areas of life? The answer to this question is,

There are NO gray areas in life!

There is only light or darkness, life or death, heaven or hell. While we may embrace this academically, we find it difficult to practice. Each one of us has our own umbrella that we carry to create personal shade. We hide areas of struggle and defeat in the shadows of our lives. Yet, the call of God is sure and certain. We are called to,

Walk in the Light!

This is a serious and scary call! No one wants their imperfections to be exposed by the light. Yet, this is exactly why we need to walk in the light. Without the light of Christ shining upon our lives, we become comfortable with our sin and brokenness and miss the healing that Jesus died for and so wonderfully wants to bring into our lives.

We just finished having all the wood trim in our house painted. Our house is over 20 years old. The walls had been repainted, but the new molding we had installed when we upgraded our floors was painted only with white primer. The doors throughout the house had begun to show the normal wear and tear of 20+ years of daily living. We had repainted many of the walls, but did not relish repainting all the woodwork. With our home scheduled to be on a holiday tour, there was no choice.

The woodwork must be painted!

We hired a wonderful and talented craftsman to paint the woodwork in our home. I considered our home to be clean. Yet, as he began to move furniture to expose the hidden baseboards, the reality was quite different. While the area that I could see was clean, the areas in the shadows, hidden by the furniture, were filled with lint, dust, and cat hair. I followed him diligently with the vacuum!

Our lives are much like this. I don’t even know what areas of my life need cleaning. Living life is often concerned with the places I can easily see, and I miss or don’t have time to address the areas that are in the shadows. Yet, when the curtains and blinds are drawn, when the full light of the sun (Son) begins to shine in my life, I discover areas that are hidden and in need of cleaning.

God does not call us into His Light so that He can expose our sin and punish us. God calls us into the Light of Jesus Christ so that He can cleanse and heal us. We will never reach our full potential in Christ if we live in the shadows. As we walk in the Light of His Love, He exposes the areas that need cleansing and healing, and the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

The Blood of Jesus Christ is not just for our salvation and justification before God. It is also for our sanctification and growth in Christ. We may shy away from the light because we are afraid of what we will find. Yet, God calls us to run to the Light so that He can help us grow and become more like Jesus Christ, our Lord!

“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”I John 1:7 NLT

And, before we try to hide behind any form of spiritual pride, we are warned that we all need the power of the Light to expose and cleanse the darkness in our lives!

“So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” I John 1:6, 8 NLT

This is a call and a process that needs to continue throughout our lives. Like my home, we need to discover the places of darkness we are not aware of and that creep into our lives as a result of the struggles of life. On this side of heaven, I need to be cleansed each and every day. Like the areas behind the furniture in my home, spiritual dust accumulates, and it needs to be cleaned.

God calls us into the light out of His faithfulness and love! He did not send His only begotten Son so that we could experience eternal life one day when we died. Jesus came so that we could have life, right now, and life more abundantly. And, Jesus stands ready to receive the heart that comes into His Light with the promise of His love, cleansing, and forgiveness!

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”I John 1:9 NLT

As I meditate on these verses, I admire the clean, white, shiny woodwork that now fills my house. The process was not always pleasant at the moment. Dealing with the clutter and darkness in our lives is never fun. Yet, when we are done, when we stand cleansed and forgiven, in the full Light of His Love, there is a sense of joy and peace that is something beautiful to behold.

So, what am I waiting for?! Lord, this morning I choose to run into Your Light! Jesus, shine upon my life. Test my heart. Draw me to repentance. Wash me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Grant me the grace to walk fully in Your Light, Life, and Love!

In Jesus’ Name!