Were you ever afraid of the dark as a child? Darkness can hide things; it seems scary when you can’t discern what is in front of you. While fear of the dark is a common fear for children, have you ever noticed that they aren’t afraid of the light?
Light versus Dark
In his Gospel, John continually uses the contrast of light and dark. He begins this in chapter one. John 1:4 The Word (Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. Now, in chapter three, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night; he comes out of the darkness to meet with Jesus who will later call Himself the Light of the World (John 8:12).
Light always overcomes darkness. Test this yourself. Go open your closet, does the light pour into the darkness, or does the darkness spill out into the light? Unfortunately, we like to hide things in the darkness. We don’t want others to know about a secret sin, so it stays in the darkness. The problem with that is that it will continue to control you from that place in the darkness. Jesus explains this to Nicodemus.
People Prefer the Dark
John 3:18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Jesus. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” [1]
There is a spiritual battle for mankind, the enemy wants to prevent us from walking into the light. Our prayers can open the eyes of those who don’t believe so they can humble themselves, repent of their sins and come into the light of Jesus. The Lord calls us to confess the darkness of our sins and be filled with His light. Confessing our sins is like cleaning out a wound so it can be healed. When our sins are hidden in the darkness, they control us, but when they are confessed and brought into the light, that control is gone.
You Can Always Come into the Light
There is not a person in the world who is too far from God that they can’t repent of their sins and be saved. Our Lord is in the rescue business to save people others may have given up on. Come into the light and be transformed by Jesus. Listen here to learn more about Nicodemus and his encounter with Jesus: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/encountering-jesus-with-nicodemus
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 3:18–21). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.