Day 29~ God our Light

1 John:5-7

"Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. If, then, we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness, we are lying both in our words and in our actions. But if we live in the light - just as he is in the light - then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin."

Our God is light.

What is light?
Light is what stimulates sight, it is what makes things visible to us.

So when we say that God is our light, we're then saying that God is the one that helps us to see.

This passage from 1st John is entitled, 'God our Light'. 

This passage is telling us that God is light, this means that God is good and righteous.

It is also telling us that in God, there is no darkness. Darkness here is a metaphor, meaning that God does nothing evil or sinful.

So it continues, 'If we say that we have fellowship with him, yet at the same time live in the darkness; that is to say, if we have a relationship with God, yet we continue sinning and doing evil, then we are lying.

How are we lying?
It's simple, light and darkness cannot coexist. 

In other words, there is no light in shadows and there are no shadows in light.

If you have an intimate relationship, or a fellowship with God, who is sinless, you cannot have a fellowship with sin.

Matthew 6:24 reminds us;
You cannot be a slave of two masters, you will hate one and love the other.

Now, if we live in the light, then we have fellowship with one another; that is, if we live in righteousness, if we are good to each other and we treat each other as we would like to be treated, then the blood of Jesus purifies us from every sin.

Why?
Because when we live and do the right things we are living in the light.

Light here can also be likened to transparency. When something is transparent you can see through it because light can pass through it.

Water is transparent, light can pass through it. This is why when you place your hand in a bucket or bowl of clean water, you can still see your hand. Now if you take some dirt and mix it with the water, and you place your hand in the bucket or bowl, you won't be able to see your hand clearly if at all.

This is what living in light means, it means that everyone can see us for who we are. 

No lies, no insincerity, no secrets, just you. If we have reasons to hide things from people, particularly those close to us, then we should examine if the things we're doing are right. 

We only hide when we're in the wrong, when our consciences are ashamed of the things we're doing.

1 John 1: 8-10 continues;

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoings. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us."

Now, this is telling us that if we say that we have no sin, then we're showing that God lies.

How?
Because God sent his son to die for us for this very cause; because we are sinful.

If there was even one person that did not sin and fall short of God's glory, he would have no reason to send Jesus.

Why?
Because that would mean that everyone, just like that one person, could make themselves right in God's sight.

But no one could do it, so God had to do it for us; he had to send his son, because without Jesus, none of us would be able to be saved by our own power.

So now, if we just confess our sins and live in the Light by being transparent with God, he will forgive us.

Not because of what we've done, but because of what Jesus has done for us.

When we don't live in transparency with God, we are being just like Adam and Eve who hid from God after they had sinned instead of confessing their sins to him.

God knows everything so we might as well tell him; firstly, because he already knows, secondly, because we don't want him to accuse us because that's a case no mortal could win.

Our God is a God of Light.
He makes visible to us the paths that we travel be they the wrong or right ones and he is our beacon that guides us in the right way.

He is a righteous and good God that does no evil. There is no darkness in him.

I pray today that God our Light, will purify us so that we may live lives which are pleasing to him so that he may bless us richly.