Don’t you hate it when the electricity goes off and you are in the dark?
You scramble to light a candle, or feel your way through the dark to that multi-purpose drawer that holds the flashlight. Of course, once you find it amongst all the other gadgets, tools and junk that has accumulated over the years, the flashlight usually has dead batteries and you are still in the dark.
Pitch black. Can’t see your hand in front of your face. Dark.
I much prefer light.
God is light.
Darkness is sin.
So why would we want to sin? Why would we want to walk in the dark? You can’t see where to put your feet. You can’t see what is in front of you. You stumble around. So it is with sinning.
We may not like it, but we are all born in sin and are natural darkness dwellers. If we don’t admit to that one essential fact of our life, we can not know any truth.
Fortunately, there is a way out of the darkness.
But first: Why would we try to deceive ourselves about our sin?
Well, for one thing, if I have convinced myself that I am a good person and if I believe that I am not living in sin, then there is no action required on my part. I don’t have to change my life, my habits, or my activities. I can carry on in a false state of safety and comfort.
It’s kind of like eating a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream every day and thinking that I won’t gain weight (or get sick). The consequences of over indulging are there whether I want to believe it or not. Before long I will have gained 20 pounds, and it is evident for all to see.
Romans 8:1 says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...”
If we admit to being a sinner, we are agreeing with God that we deserve condemnation. But “there is now no condemnation (from God) for those who are in Christ Jesus...”
So, who’s the liar?
If I say I am a Christian, yet live in the darkness of intentional sin, then I am living a lie. My entire life is based on a lie. . But, if I say I don’t sin, then that makes God the liar.
If God lies about one thing... anything..., then ALL of His word is a lie and it has no ‘place’ (no meaning, no power, no basis, no function) in our life.
I have good news for you. God is not a liar.
He is not the flashlight with dead batteries. He is the broad light of day. He is the sun at its zenith! He has absolutely nothing to do with darkness. He is the complete opposite of dark.
Where does that put you? He has provided a way, through Jesus to step out of the darkness of sin and into the light of His love.
If you are in the dark, who turned out the lights? Here’s a clue: God didn’t flip the switch.
Lord, I pray that your light will shine in the hearts of each of us to convict us of the darkness of sin in our lives, and to change us into reflections of You. May we live in your light and truth. In Jesus Christ’s precious and holy Name. Amen.
1 John 1: 5-10 “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 yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 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. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
Published splatteredfaith.blogspot.com May 2013
