“And this is the condemnation, because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his deeds may not be made manifest. But he who does the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be made manifest, that they have been done by God” (John 3:19-21).
God’s truth is often represented as “light” in scripture. Unlike darkness, in which we cannot see clearly and may mistake one thing for another, light shows everything as it really is. When God speaks, we are presented with the facts: about Him, about His offer of forgiveness for our sins, and about what He wants us to do. As Oswald Chambers said, “Light is God’s perspective.”
But we don’t always want to hear God’s perspective, especially when it reveals the need for serious adjustment in our character and conduct. “Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Darkness hides much that light can reveal.
So we never make a more important decision than when we decide what our attitude will be toward the light of God. Will we actively seek it and then gratefully welcome it? Or will we run from it and resent the pain it causes our conscience?
At least in the beginning, “coming into the light” can be really painful. If we’ve been in the dark for a long time, we’ve probably become accustomed to a certain kind of comfort—not the comfort that comes from good things happening to us, but the false comfort of failing to see how far from well things really are. The darkness has allowed us to live with a false sense of security for perhaps too long.
But light changes all this. In the light we see our situation as it is. We see the truth about the wide gap between where we are and where God wants us. We see the ugly facts of our irresponsibility, our ingratitude, our rebellion. We see our sin.
Then again, our destiny depends on our decision about the light. Either we will accept the momentary pain of repentance, or we will endure the eternal pain of regret. Jesus said this is Truth He will set us free (John 8:32). Is this what we want or not?
“I am judged not by the light I have, but by the light I have refused to accept” (Oswald Chambers).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
