"5. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin"
1 John 1:5-7
I remember this one time about two years ago a few of my really good friends and my youth pastor where at a conference in atlanta. It was a bit past wake up time and i remember one of my friends saying he didn't want to get up, he proceeded to say, "i hate the sun!" This is a common thing i think for a lot of people not wanting to wake up to the brightness of the sun because we have enjoyed sleeping in the darkness.
Just for sake of this story the pastors remark was one of the most ridiculous and pompous things i've heard and in no way does it reflect him now but this is what he said, "if you don't like the sun you might not like God?"
HA!
This really isn't the way a rebuke should look and the pastor wasn't really right in saying that but the idea of hiding from the light defiantly should have a second look.
Why do we all the time hide from the light. Why do we think that we can keep all of our inequities and failings hidden from everyone. Reading through a book i have recently recieved i have been struck with how crazy of a notion it is to hide from each other and even trying to hide from God. The only thing i can think of to why we try so hard to hide our sin and our trouble is to look like we are really doing ok. when the actual truth is the more we hide and protect our sins the more they will consume us. each time more and more our sins get stronger and stronger to a point where we dont care to change it. We know that God knows all things but that has just become a comfortable reality, we have lost conviction. My test to you is to really look inward and find something you have been burdened with, something you are having trouble with. Then offer it up to God and start restore your relationship with Him and then seek out a friend, preferably someone who can keep you accountable. Tell them what your dealing with and let them pray for your and maybe give you some advise. But don't be afraid that someone will judge you. We have all sinned and have all fallen short and we all need just as much grace as every other person. The only way to grow and have true fellowship with Christ and each other though is to come out of the darkness and find the peace that God has for us in His light.
If we can get over the pride we have built up in the masquerade of being seemingly "good christian people" and really expose our weakness that we can experience what it says at the end of 1 John 7. That Jesus blood will cleanse us from all sin. From all sin. We need to trust Him and restore our fellowship with God.
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-Jonathan