Light and Truth
Scripture Reading — John 3:19-21
"Light has come ... but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." John 3:19
We recently moved into a different house. We did some painting and remodeling. We removed the wallpaper in a hallway, planning to paint the wall instead. The hall was dimly lit, and at first the unpapered wall didn't look bad, but when we replaced some burned-out light bulbs, we suddenly saw why the previous owners had used wallpaper. The wall was pitted and plagued with imperfections. When exposed to light, all the imperfections became clearly visible.
Even though the light of Christ came into the world, people "loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."
It can be hard for us to let the light of Christ shine in our hearts. Darkness hides what is wrong, but the light of truth exposes imperfections in our character, motives that are insincere, and sins that we are hiding. The closets of our hearts can be filled with things that we would rather keep hidden in the dark.
If we keep things hidden from the light of Christ, however, our life cannot be seen for what it really is, and we cannot repent and be forgiven. When we examine our lives in the light of Christ, when we allow his truth to shine into our hearts, we are able to begin the process of becoming what God intended us to be--perfect in his light!
Lord, help us not to allow darkness to reign in our hearts. May the light of Christ shine in us so that through your Spirit we may not fear the light but rejoice in the truth. Amen.
About the author — Joel Sheeres
Rev. Joel Sheeres is the pastor at First Christian Reformed Church in Crown Point, Indiana. He and his wife, Christine, have three children. Pastor Sheeres has previously served at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.
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