Living in the Light

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 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. 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. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 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. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

(1 John 1:5-10 NLT)

"I wanna be in the light as you are in the light. I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens. Oh, Lord be my light and be my salvation. 'Cause all I want is to be in the light"

(In the Light - DCTalk)

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"

Light. A dark room isn't easy to navigate through without it. Try to walk in the darkness and you will stub your toe and bang your shin on that pesky coffee table you thought was over a little bit farther. You could easily trip and fall over something carelessly left on the floor and really get hurt. Turn on the light and you can clearly see all of the obstacles that stand in your way and you can easily navigate your way to your destination. As Christians we are not only called into the light and out of the darkness, but we are called to BE the light in a dark and dying world. We all know someone in our lives that claims to follow Jesus Christ, but whose actions show otherwise. Their light is barely visible, if it is even there at all. We all know someone who is really following Jesus Christ. Their light shines brightly and it illuminates the darkness around them. People are naturally drawn to them because of their luminesence. If you have ever driven during the time when the sun just begins to set, you know just how brightly it shines into your eyes. The sun gives us light so that we can see the world around us. God is light. Following Him, really following Him, causes us to shine brightly, so that others can see the world around them and see their way out of the darkness of this world. God uses us to light a path that points to Him. Jesus says in 1 John 1, that if we are living in spiritual darkness, if we deny our sin and refuse to confess it, then we are no longer lighting that path that points others to light, life, and love and ultimately to God and we are not following Him at all. Jesus also says that if we are living in the light, in the truth, and in fellowship with God, giving his Word a place in our hearts to grow and flourish then we are lighting the path for others to see their way to God. I guess the question is, are you living in the truth lighting the pathway for others that leads them to God, or are you burnt out and living in darkness? Is your light barely visible to those around you? What is keeping you from letting your light shine? If we confess our sins, God is faitful and just and he'll forgive our sins, or mess-ups, our failures, and purify and cleanse us from all wickedness and unrighteousness. He'll light the flame of our hearts so that we can burn brightly for him and we can be a light that leads others to the loving arms of God.