Living in the light.

1 John 1:5-10
Walking in the light

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 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. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

I can't tell you how important I'm coming to realize that living in the light is. We spend so much of our lives living in darkness, in secret. It's all a part of our society. There's this image that we think we're all supposed to live up to, so we hide who we are our of the fear that we won't be accepted. We hide everything from simple musical preferences to destructive addictions. Hiding this stuff in the darkness is what gives the darkness it's power. The secret is what Satan uses to build those "What ifs" of fear.

Who do we hide from? Well...

First, ourselves. My wife likes things neat and organized, I'm more 'organic'. So if I don't have things picked up, she starts to twitch. So if I've left the office go or have a stack of dishes in the sink, she'll sometimes 'just not go in there.' We do that so many times in ourselves. In the back of our mind we know the mess is there, in the darkness, in secret. We just 'don't go in there.' We know we've got a pride problem, or lust, or a deep hurt, but we keep it in darkness out of fear. We allow Satan to convince us that if that comes out in the light, we'll be hurt worse, rejected and humiliated so we don't even acknowledge it ourselves.

Second, God. Which is the most ridiculous of the three, to think that we can keep anything hidden from an all-knowing, all-powerful God who is the light. He already knows! So the minute you can get past the idea that you need to keep whatever aspect of your life that you fear in the darkness, you need to share that with God. He will accept you. He will forgive you, if needed. He will comfort you and empower you.

Lastly, and most obviously, others. This is the hardest because this is the area that Satan has been building these huge 'What ifs' in. We fear that people will reject us, mock us, stop loving us. We get convinced that we'll lose our job, our marriage, or our kids. This is the power of the darkness, keeping you in fear. So if you want out of the darkness, you've got to tell someone. Confess what ever it is, sin or not, and step out into the light.

Here's the best part. This is where true freedom is. True freedom is no longer being bound by sin and living under fear. Once you step out into the light, you can be yourself, face the sin, receive forgiveness and move forward without condemnation. I don't know about you, but the most oppressive force in my life is fear. To step into the light and face that is more liberating that I can express.

So what do you fear? What do you hide from the world, from yourself or from God? Confess it to yourself, to God and to someone else. Then you will find freedom and joy.