God is Light
By James Metsger
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
I don’t want to give you the impression I grew up in a cave, but the people who claimed me on their taxes weren’t exactly guilty of driving up the electrical bill by leaving the lights on. The predominate chorus of my childhood, in no particular order, was:
- Brush your teeth
- To be early is to be on time; to be on time is to be late, and to be late is a sin
- Turn off the lights!
I didn’t like living with the lights off. I still don’t. I’ve found when the lights are off, I can’t see as well. Weird, I know. And when I can’t see, I bump into things. And when I bump into things, I break things. Living in darkness is no fun. So, turn on the lights.
God is light. Light pierces the darkness. It illumines our path and exposes what is hidden. Light gives life.
God gives light to our path through his Word. He helps us see where we’re going. Sometimes we’d like for Him to light our path for miles and miles. But often, he sheds light only on the next few feet—just enough to take the next step. That’s usually all we need.
Light exposes what is hidden. Darkness in the Bible is often synonymous with sin, and sin is often practiced in secret. Jesus didn’t mince words in John 3:20 when he said, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” Light exposes this ugliness and helps us see truth. God brings light to dark places because God is light.
We’re a mixed bag. We have some fine qualities, some admirable attributes, and some terrific character traits. But, we also have some embarrassing quirks, flaws, and foibles that we don’t post on Facebook or Instagram. And underneath all those are the sins we try to keep hidden at the bottom of the bag We’re a mixed bag, but God isn’t. He is altogether beautiful.
God is light and in him there is no darkness.
What’s amazing is that despite your quirks, flaws and sin, God’s light is now shining through you. The light of God illuminates God’s kids in such a way that other people take notice. God is light and in him, there is no darkness.
Reflect: Has there been a time in your life when something that was in the dark was brought to light? Is there anything in your heart or life that needs to be brought into the light? What would it look like for you to expose what is hidden?