Opening up to the Light

Scripture verse that caught my attention today: 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.

Observation: There is nothing to hide because nothing can be hidden.

Application: There is a book title that goes something like this: “When No-one Is Looking.” I haven’t read the book, but the thought that comes to mind is that there are probably a lot of things that most if not all people might like to do if they thought that no-one would ever find out. It’s human nature. In Exodus even Moses was like that. When he saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite, it looked around to see if anyone was looking and, when he thought the coast was clear, he took out his vengeance on the Egyptian to the point of his death. Same with Old Testament King David who thought no-one would ever know of his intimate afternoon with Bathsheba. In the New Testament (John 3) Nicodemous came to Jesus by night. Little did he know that his supposedly secret conversation with Jesus would become one of the most popular stories in the world’s best selling book of all time!

Who are we kidding when we think that what we do and think is not known? God is light. At this point some might argue that we therefore should think better thoughts and do better things. Perhaps. But I’m more inclined to suggest that we just be honest. Confession regarding the truth of our existence is good. I find that, when I have the courage/trust to lay everything that I am thinking or have done or not done before the Lord, there is a cleansing that takes place. A burden is lifted. The depth of God’s love for me is once again revealed. I realize once again that I am loved not because of what I may have occasionally accomplished in this world, but because God just loves me period. And although God’s ultimate love for me never wanes, the two-way nature of the relationship is nevertheless strengthened when I’m willing to just come clean about who I am, what I’ve thought, what I’ve done, and what I wish could somehow be different. Somehow at that point the future always looks a little brighter. That should come as no surprise; as John wrote centuries ago, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”

Prayer: Lord thanks for the always-available opportunity to be honest with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings today included: Jeremiah 48-49, Psalm 67, and 1 John 1)