“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
When John says, “God is light,” what does he mean? Is he saying that God is like a giant flashlight? Or maybe God is like the sun?
In the Bible, darkness is often used to describe sin. Hell is said to be a very dark place because God’s glory is not present there. If sin is like darkness, then God is like light – because God is pure and holy.
Have you ever noticed how darkness and light cannot be in a room at the same time? Here is an example:
Matt was with his dad at an Atlanta Braves baseball game. As the fifth inning was coming to a close, the sun was going down and the sky began to grow darker. Suddenly, all the huge stadium lights flashed on and flooded everything with brilliant light. The stadium that once had become dimmer and darker was now just as bright as it would have been in the middle of a sunny day! What happened? The light drove away the darkness. Whenever light fills someplace, there is no more room for darkness.
Light and darkness are like God and sin. God will not stay in the same place as sin. That means when you choose to keep sin in your life, God will not fellowship with you. You may be close in one sense to God (He is present everywhere), but in a spiritual sense, you remove yourself far away from God when you sin against Him willfully. That is why John writes to Christians, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (See 1 John 1:6.) You can say that you are walking with God all you want. But your actions will tell the real story.
Praise the Lord – the opposite is also true! When you are walking with God and choosing to please Him, there will be no room for sin in your life. Remember that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all! You should walk with God closely so that sin does not have a chance to creep into your life.
One night, Matt’s family was driving in Australia with a missionary pastor. The pastor turned off the highway and began driving very slowly, turning off his headlights. Then he said, “Watch this!” Suddenly, he turned the headlights back on. They were on a golf course. There, blinking in the bright light, were dozens of kangaroos that had been grazing on the course. The kangaroos stared at Matt, and Matt stared back in wonder. Then they slowly hopped away. Unless the headlights had been turned on, Matt would not have even known that the kangaroos were around!
Many times, the “light” of God’s Word will show us things that we need to change. When that happens, we need to draw near to God in humble repentance. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
God is light!
My Response:
» Is there any “darkness” (sin) in my life that I need to get out?
» Why should I be thankful that God is light?