Half-light or Holy Light?
Opening Prayer
Lord God, may Your light surround me and reveal the truth. May Your light purify me, direct me and be my delight.
Read 1 JOHN 1:1–10
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Why does Jesus want John to grasp this fact about God: that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (5)?Could it be that we are so used to living in spiritual half-light that we do not see things as they truly are? I thought I had done a good job painting the ceiling until my husband switched on the light and revealed the truth! That’s what light does—it confronts us with reality.
When God shines his light into our lives, he confronts us with our sin (8), then he shows us his glorious answer for sorting out our problem (7). God’s light helps us face up to our sin (6) and confess it (9).
As we confess, Jesus purifies us from sin so that we can enjoy a holy relationship with God and others (3,7). If we say we belong to him our lives should show that we belong to him (6). John spent three years watching Jesus, learning from him and walking with him (1–3). He understood that faith in Jesus is a practical matter: it changes what we do and how we do it.
Apply
Repeat verse 5. Each time you say these words about God, ask God to shine his light into different areas of your life.
Closing prayer
I praise You, Jesus, that You are faithful and just to forgive my sins and purify me from all unrighteousness (9).
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