“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
“Please, try not to look at all the clutter around here!”
“Sorry – I didn’t have time to clean off my desk.”
“I can’t let you come in my room right now – it’s just such a mess!”
We all have been in situations where our living place was in such a mess that it would not have been polite to invite guests in. It is hard to have to say, “I can’t let you come in right now.” It is not fun to have to admit, “I’m just not ready for company today!” – how embarrassing!
Now, imagine how it would be to live in a room or stay in a whole house that did not have any light. If we cannot keep things neat and clean in the daylight or by the lamplight, then surely we could not keep things neat and clean in the dark! The place would soon become unlivable because of the mess that would start piling up. You might try to clean your bedroom in the dark, but you would not be able to see anything or do anything without breaking or bumping into something. You would probably hurt yourself just trying to get your room cleaned up!
If we want to be able to walk around and live properly in a bedroom, we need to have light enough to see where everything is and light enough to use what is in the room properly. If we want to clean up a mess, we have to have enough light to see the mess!
Have you ever compared your life to a messy house or bedroom? Sometimes our lives get busy and we stop paying attention to the sin problems that are piling up. These sins that we let go can come between us and God. We cannot enjoy fellowship with God if we have unconfessed unrighteousness in our hearts. We let our lives get cluttered and clogged with stuff that blocks our fellowship with God. Sometimes we do not even realize how “dirty” we have let our lives become. We cannot see how messy things are in our hearts!
How can we get a clear view of the mess our sins cause? The Bible teaches us that in order to walk (live) properly and be in close fellowship with God, we have to “walk in the light, as He is in the light.” What does that mean – to “walk in the light”? The Bible teaches in 1 John and other places that God is light. Do you walk with God? Do you acknowledge Him (honor and remember His presence) in everything you do? Do you remember that your sin is before Him and against Him, and do you ask His forgiveness when you sin? If you do these things, you are walking in righteousness and light. Everything is clean and clear.
On the other hand, those who reject Christ are without light. They hate light because it reveals all their evil doings. This is how it is for every person who does not have God in his life. He lives in spiritual darkness, and his life is just a mess! He cannot see how much sin has been piled high in his heart. He cannot see what a mess his life is becoming. He does not know what great fellowship with God that he is missing.
If we waited until our hearts were “ready for company,” we would never be ready for God to “visit” us. We cannot clean up our own mess before letting God in to see it. On our own, we could never get our lives cleaned up “enough” for God to be pleased with the results. To pass His inspection and to enjoy His company, we have to “receive” Him, let the “light” shine in, and let Him do a cleansing work in our hearts first. Through Christ’s righteousness, we can have light to keep on seeing our sin for what it is. We can keep on enjoying fellowship with Him as long as we walk in His light.
God gives the light we need to “see” the mess in our lives. Only through Him can we ever be “cleaned up” enough to fellowship with Him.
My Response:
» Have I received God into my heart and life?
» By God’s “light,” am I able to “see” the messiness that sin causes in my life?
» How can I keep on walking “in the light”?