LIGHT IT UP
An old parable from years ago
tells of hungry man who sat down to eat a bowl of dates by candle light. The
man took one bite of a date and saw a worm in it, so he tossed the date away
and selected another. He took a bite of another date, and it too, contained a
worm. So, the man threw that date away as well. Concerned that all of the dates
contained worms, the hungry man blew out the candle and quickly ate the rest of
the dates in the dark. The meaning of the parable speaks to how people often
choose to live in the darkness, in denial, rather than in the reality of the
truth that light brings.
The Bible says that God is
light. “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is
light, and there is no darkness in him at all.”—1 John 1:5. That’s a good thing for you to know! God is
light in that He is holy and pure. As the book of James declares, He is the
“Father of lights” …in whom there is no variation, darkness or shifting shadow.
(James 1:17)
Early in the Genesis creation
narratives of the Bible, God separates light from darkness. He calls the light
“good.” Throughout the Bible, darkness is not a good thing. On the cross,
during the middle of the day, darkness encompassed the earth, demonstrating the
bleakness of the power of sin that Jesus was conquering. Darkness is always a
symbol of impurity, ignorance, being lost and evil. Now, that should be a clue
to you about how you should live.
As a believer you are called
by God to live in the light. You are to live in the light of Jesus, choosing to
embrace truth, honesty, forgiveness, courage and humility. Although you may try
to hide from the exposure that God’s light brings to the darkness in your life,
it is light that brings healing. You know that there are areas of your life
where God wants to shine. Don’t hide out in darkness! Light it up! Let God turn on His light in and
through you!
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