Let There Be Light
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. –1 John 1:5,6
At my place of employment, there are lots of renovations going on, including new flooring in our hallway. In one particular part of the hallway, in front of a door that leads to an outside patio, there is an area that takes on water anytime we get heavy rain. Since this area is right across from my office, I’ve heard several comments from staff wondering how they are going to address this to prevent damage to the new flooring. Instead of laying the new flooring and hoping for the best, or waiting till the damage is done to address it, the installers have kept that area exposed until the root of the problem is fixed. Once that is fixed, they can proceed with covering it up with the new floor.
The metaphor for our lives here is that often times the easiest way to deal with an issue is to ignore it, cover it up and plow ahead, hoping it will solve itself. But inevitably, this approach does not work. We can cover up our faults, brokenness, mistakes or shortcomings with all kinds of polished things but until we dig deep and address the root of the issue, it will just continue to reemerge on our path. That’s part of what this verse speaks to. If we claim to be in fellowship with Jesus, but continue to hide the truth about ourselves, we are living at least partially in darkness. Darkness hides things but the light exposes them. God wants us to live out the truth, even when it is painful or embarrassing. Once we are really honest with ourselves and others, it takes the power of darkness away and we can begin to heal. God is a God of healing, restoration and wholeness, and the only way for us to allow Him to continue that work in us is to be completely honest with Him, ourselves and others. That’s a tough thing but the reward is well worth it!
Seek God this week and ask Him to show you if there are any areas in your life you have been keeping in the dark, then ask Him to give you the strength to expose them to the light so He can transform them.