Most of us take light for granted. We wake up in the morning and flip the switch or open the blinds and there it is. We can function in the world because of light. Without it we would get lost.
A few weeks ago I was up in the middle of the night navigating the bedroom. I normally can do this because there is just enough light to orient me in the room. For some reason I got twisted around, more than half asleep. Then all of a sudden sharp pain in my ankle made me realize exactly where I was. I had just smashed the metal end of my bed frame. I paid for that for several days. I even had to put ice on it to reduce the swelling.
One of the greatest functions of light is to reveal things that are otherwise hidden. We get a flashlight to look in the corners of the attic or the crawlspace under the house. We light a candle when the power goes out. We have headlights on our cars and trucks. We have streetlights and floodlights. We add light to our environment in order to reveal things we can’t see otherwise.
When John speaks of light and darkness he is writing about a moral reality. We know this because the second half of our text today declares that there is no darkness in God. It is not that God is a giant holy flashlight or LED, but that in Him everything is revealed. There are no hidden spots, nothing to hide. He is purity itself. He can never do wrong.
Notice that John does not say that light is God. This would be ridiculous. That would reduce Him to a physical property that can be measured, bent, split and extinguished. Those who rise and worship the light of the sun when it rises in the morning would be wasting their time. They could simply turn on the switch in their warm bed and worship. Just because the sun is brighter and bigger than a light bulb doesn’t make the light any greater an object for worship than the light from a 40 watt bulb. Light isn’t God!
Light does not take away the darkness. As soon as you turn off the light, darkness reappears. Darkness is the absence of light. In John’s way of thinking, when God is present darkness is completely vanquished. God’s light never goes out. Once He arrives there is permanent light. No need to change His batteries or plug Him in to recharge. He is His own power source.
I like that there is no darkness at all in God. I won’t turn a corner in my walk with Him and suddenly be groping around trying to orient myself in some dark corner or blackened cavern. Everywhere I turn in Him there is light and openness. No hidden agendas exist. He has my best interests in His heart. He is working them out to His glory.
So next time you find yourself in some dark place, perhaps it is time to retrace your steps and find out where you left the LORD and began walking on your own. It is not that dark, difficult places never enter the life of a Jesus-follower, but that even in those dark places we can see His light shining. We won’t become lost in those places, walking in circles. His light will orient us through the valley of the shadow of death. We will know which way to walk.
The Arnold Journey 