Have you ever noticed that light changes things?
Recently, we’ve been continuing to work in our house on a remodeling project. It has had its ups and downs, but things are getting done (slower than I’d like, but it’s getting done). One of the major changes to our rooms has been lighting.
Until recently, we’ve not had any lights installed in the rooms we are remodeling. One was removed for us to paint, and there were two other places where we needed to purchase fixtures. So, we worked for a while without them. In some ways, this was good as it limited the time that I was able to work to the daylight hours. In other ways, this was bad as it limited the time that I was able to work to the daylight hours. Still, we all know that light is beneficial, and light changes things.
One way that light changes things is that it can reveal blemishes. Shine a light on something that looks great in the darkness, and all of the sudden, it doesn’t look so great any more.
This happened with one area of drywall. (I’ve expressed my frustrations with drywall in the past…I promise I won’t go down that road again today.) With the light from the windows, the drywall on one wall looked pretty good. No major flaws, fairly smooth. Looking pretty decent. Then, we installed some lights overhead. 5 directional beams that would shine over some shelving/counter area.
Light changes things.
All of the sudden what looked “good” now looked “bad.” What seemed to be “nice” turned “ugly.” What looked like “perfection” now became “imperfection.” We had even been through painting and inspecting and re-doing some other areas, thinking everything was good. Still, these five small beams of light revealed what the darkness had hidden. Blemishes. Flaws. Mistakes. Failures. Things that I wish would have remained hidden forever.
Light changes things.
Do you know what else changes things? God.
In the first Epistle (fancy word for letter that is used as a book of the New Testament) of John, we read, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
No darkness. At all. Not even a hint of it.
Can you imagine that? No darkness? At all?
The slightest imperfection would be laid bare. The tiniest bump, the slightest bit out of level (unfortunately, I have a cabinet handle that is this way currently…may get fixed, may stay that way for a while), all revealed. Every mistake, every slip up, every goof, every flaw, whether intentional or otherwise, would be lit up for all to see.
Light changes things.
Things done in the darkness don’t seem so bad, but shine a light on them, and you see them for what they truly are. Bumpy drywall doesn’t look so bad in the dark. In the light? Not good. Questionable decisions may not seem too bad when one is walking in darkness. In the light? You see them for what they are.
God is described as the light. In him there is no darkness. At all.
No impurities. No imperfections. No wickedness. No vileness. No impure thoughts or motives. No selfishness. No vain ambition. No hate. No evil. No sin. No shame. No lying. No cheating. No backstabbing. No unfairness. No immorality.
No darkness. At all. That is the nature of God. God is light.
1 John continues, “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;” (1 John 1:6)
If we say that we are walking in the light, but we are actually walking in darkness, that’s not good. If we say that we are Christians. If we say that we know God. If we say that we follow Jesus, but we are walking in darkness. We lie. We do not do what is true, and this will be revealed. We can’t possibly hope to be used for the Kingdom of Light if we keep pursuing the kingdom of darkness. It will never work. The Light will reveal our motives, people will see through our deceitfulness, the lie will be exposed, and we will be known for how dark we are.
“but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Fortunately, God does not leave us in our darkness. God does not make us wallow in our pit, or leave us in our shame. Instead, he offers us his Son, Jesus, the Light of the World to cleanse us from our sin.
You know, it would be silly for me to go back to the dark in those rooms just because I don’t like what the light revealed. How much sense would it make if I said, “I don’t like what I see! Take all the lights out! Let’s live in the dark.” It would make no sense whatsoever. We couldn’t use the rooms for their intended purposes. We’d be limited in their functionality and their use. Instead, we need to address the issues and allow the light to shine.
Often, though, in our own lives, we’re tempted to do that which makes no sense to do. The light shines and reveals the darkness, and we want to turn the light off! Like it is the light’s problem! “Yeah, yeah, I see the pride. I see the greed. I see the envy in my life. Turn off that terrible light and just let me continue in those things!”
That makes no sense either! We aren’t made to walk in darkness. We have been created to be children of the light. That’s our design. That’s our purpose. That’s our intent. To be children of the light.
The difficulty, though, is that sometimes even when we are trying to walk in the light, we can still stumble around like we are in darkness.
I mentioned the handle that isn’t level. I did that with plenty of light and a level in hand. No excuse. Yet, it’s still not right. I still screwed up. So, what then?
John continues, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8)
Recognize that we are sinners, that we aren’t perfect, that we aren’t God. Deal with the fact that we will screw up. Then, when we do screw up, confess. Admit the failure. Admit the wrong. Look at the mistake. Let the light shine on the darkness. Repent from these failures and be forgiven, cleansed, renewed, restored, and then continue to walk in the light.
Friends, light changes things. It really does. A dark room, even newly remodeled, can hide all kinds of ugliness. Bumps and ridges, cracks and dents, flaws and imperfections. But shine a light on those things and the truth is revealed. Then, the problems can be addressed and the room can be made the way that is intended.
The same is true of the light of God. The light of God in our life will change things. It will absolutely, without a doubt, reveal our brokenness, our cracks, our bumps and our flaws. If you say it doesn’t, well…refer to what John just said. But, when those things are revealed, that is when we may seek God and ask for him to change us, to transform us, to make us new. That’s when we confess our sins and allow the blood of Jesus to cover us and cleanse us.
In the time since we’ve installed the lights in the room, we’ve put in our shelving that had been planned for that space. Fortunately, they’ve covered over the drywall issues. You can see them no longer. It’s like they never existed in the first place.
Sound familiar? That’s what God offers to us as well. Sins removed from us as far as the east is from the west…like they weren’t there in the first place.
Light changes things, friends, it really does. Walk in the light.
~ Pastor Chris
