What is it to walk in the darkness? We see in 1 John 1.6-7 (ESV), "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in drakness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from all sin." So what is it to walk in the dark? We're all familiar with the idea of going crashing into things. We're all familiar with wondering whether there is something that will cause us to fall. We're all familiar with the insecurity of walking in the dark. But there's something else that happens as well. Picture yourself in the dark. When the lights are off and it's dark, I might be an NBA star. I might be a prize-winning journalist. I know everything. I can do anything. My secret life emerges. I'm all powerful, all knowing, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, better looking than anyone else in the world. In short, when I'm walking in the darkness, I'm God, at least in my imaginations. Aren't you? It's amazing what can happen when we walk in the dark from the bedroom to the bathroom.
What happens when we turn on the bathroom light? It's really morning? My eyes suddenly feel bleary as the light comes on. I look at myself in the mirror and look away. Boy, I'm fat. Old, stiff, ugly, don't smell too good, not a pretty sight at all. I have no idea what day it is, what time it is, really hardly know where I am except I'm where I always am. I don't know what has happened while I was asleep, while it was dark. This is quite a distance from being omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Pretty sorry excuse for a god. I guess I'm just me, walking in the light.
We walk in the darkness. We make ourselves into the ruler of heaven and earth. We deceive ourselves. But when Jesus, the Light of the world comes and shines his light on us we not only see ourselves for what we are, we see Jesus as well. In Jesus we are brought face to face with the true God. In Jesus we are confronted with the true Light. In Jesus we see that we are not God. But there's more. In Jesus we see that we don't have to be God. We no longer have to make everything right in the world. We realize we are not able to do so but that he already has. We realize that we are not able to take away sin but that Jesus has atoned for sin. We realize that it's not a matter of being strong, fast, tall, good looking, even good smelling. It's a matter of being the perfect Lord of heaven and earth, giving your life for the life of the world. And Jesus has done this, once and for all, for you and for me.
The ligts are on.
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