Daily Devotional #7 Lights Energizes (1 John 1:5)

For the past few days we have been considering 1 John 1:5 "This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."

As we have considered, light reveals and measures, but light energizes, as well.

In the late 80's, DC Talk produced a song, In The Light. In that song, we discover the lyrics, "I keep trying to find a life, On my own, apart from You, I am the king of excuses, I've got one for every selfish thing I do, What's going on inside of me?, I despise my own behavior, This only serves to confirm my suspicions, That I'm still a man in need of a Savior, I wanna be in the Light, As You are in the Light

The most dramatic quality about light is that it imparts life, it activates, it quickens. When the sun rises each day, it discovers the world in darkness. The sun awakens all that sleeps.The birds began to sing, and the bees began to buzz. The light energizes life. This happens every morning. That is what God does. He leads His creation through the darkness into an ever-growing experience of life and vitality and productivity. Many have lost this vision, and for them life is dead. dull and meaningless. Over time, this meaninglessness fills with increasing despair. Man's low-voltage substitute for life cries out for light, and God is light.

Many wonder, "Okay, if God is light and he energizes, then why does it only seem to happen to a few?" It is right here that John continues.

⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; ⁷ 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. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:6-10)
 
Here, John goes on to point out that there are three conditions that shut out the healing, cleansing, satisfying light so that though it is shining it does not change us. God is light and He does reveal truth, He does measure life, he does give us a reference point by which the false can be separated from the true. Best of all, He satisfies, He energizes, He vitalizes. But He does so only as we learn to address the conditions that hide the light from us.

Tomorrow, we will consider the first of these three conditions.