September 3 | 1 John 1:5-10

DAILY READING

1 John 1:5-10

REFLECTION

Are You Afraid of the Dark or the Light?

by Mary Alice McGinnis

Do you remember being afraid of the dark as a kid? I can still picture laying in my bed and the light from the upstairs hallway casting shadows on my bedroom walls. My six-year-old mind would transform those innocent shadows into massive monsters that were ready attack me while I lay there alone in my bed.

John announces to us in today’s verses, “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”

We as humans have difficulty imagining anything like what John describes. Light and darkness seem to go hand and hand in our world.

All the people we have encountered in our lives, even the best of them, still have their dark side. We have never experienced joy without sorrow, love without hate or betrayal, hope without disappointment, life without death. So many would have us believe, this is just how it is meant to be. The “circle of life.” The yin and the yang.

But John points us to a different hope!! We have a God in whom there is NO darkness at all.

He has no hidden personal agenda, no manipulative evil purpose, no masked vendetta, no hostile intention to do us harm. He is COMPLETELY PURE and HOLY LIGHT.

Try to imagine in your mind right now what that might look like?

In Him, there is NO DARKNESS AT ALL.

We on the other hand, see ourselves in a completely different way. We may know we are flawed, but instead of being honest with ourselves, we cover up and hide the true darkness of our sinful hearts. Just like a mole who would rather stay under the surface than peek his head out in the light of day, we dig down deep into our safe little black holes of self-reliance, of bitterness, envy, self-preservation, or of selfish ambition. We don’t like being exposed to the light. It is painful.

But John beckons us to come out of hiding in the darkness: “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, purifies us from all sin.”

Jesus not only died for you, He lived for you! He was RAISED back to LIFE again and has restored our relationship to the God of eternal light, and to each other. The blazing light of His righteousness can now, always, and forever be YOURS.

Here is the summation the gospel message “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

What is God asking you to confess Him today, to bring out into the light? Does it frighten you? Know that the God, who sent Jesus to sacrifice Himself for YOU, has no DARKNESS in HIM at all.

He is calling you out of darkness into His GLORIOUS LIGHT! Don't be afraid!

" There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)