Don’t Turn Off the Light

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. John 1:9

Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

It’s no secret… none of us like to be shown that we are wrong.  Let me be more specific… I don’t like to be shown that I’m wrong.

But often I’m wrong.  I sin.  I have pride.  I can be selfish and unloving.  That is my condition as a human being.  For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Jesus is called the Light in John 1:9.  He is the truth.  He exposes darkness.  He shines into it and reveals what is really there. When I read the Bible, I see Him, and His light shines into my heart.

When the Light shines in my heart, I don’t like what I see.  I don’t like the light to shine into my heart.  It’s like the back room where you’ve stashed all your junk for years.  “Let’s not go there!  Don’t shine the light there!”

Jesus said in John 3:19 that this is man’s natural response.  Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

My heart likes its sin.  Thankfully, Christ has redeemed me and given me a desire for the Light.  I can now choose to follow the Light, but the inclination to hide from the Light is still there.

I have to pray and ask God to give me the courage and the humility to step into the light in all its fullness and to see myself in all honesty.

This means:

1. No skirting around certain truths. We like certain truths, because we don’t struggle with the sins they expose.  Or we like certain truths to a certain point,  but don’t go too far in its application.  We wouldn’t really want to see the implications of that truth.
2. No shirking back from the truth about ourselves. We tend to let the light shine only so deep, but then say, “That’s enough.  Let’s change the subject.” (ok, so we don’t verbalize it, but how we respond to the truth reveals this attitude.)

For example, what if we really applied the truth of Christ’s love for us – a love that sent Him on mission from heaven to earth to redeem us at the cost of everything?  What if we took the time to let that truth shine the light on our hearts? What if we didn’t shy away from letting that truth expose our selfishness, greed, and lack of love for others.

Think about it.  God could dramatically alter our paths and change our lives if we would just stay in the light long enough for Him to do His work.

We don’t like to step into the light, but it’s worth it.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. I John 1:7

Two things can happen when we boldly step into the light:

1. Fellowship with God is made possible. When we stay in the darkness, we stay away from God.  We must step out into the light, and let Him expose our sin for there to be any fellowship.
2. Cleansing and forgiveness becomes available. God doesn’t expose sin just for the sake of exposing the sin.  He exposes the sin for the purpose of restoration and cleansing.  As we stay under His light, agreeing with Him about the sin and confessing it, He washes it clean.

So, step into the light of the Word and stay there. Be still under the searchlight God shines into you, and let Him cleanse and change you.

Have you seen God use His light to radically change you?