Bible Reading: John 8:12, 1 John 1:5-9
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
A Reflection:
A few years ago, with a number of our friends and family, we attempted The National Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. We started with Ben Nevis in Scotland, which, even at the beginning of June, was covered in snow and fog. This made us late attempting Scafell Pike in The Lake District and it was dark by the time we got towards the top. Finding the path on the top of the highest mountain in England is fine in the daylight but in the dark it was both difficult and dangerous and sadly, but in order to be safe, we had to concede defeat.
Sometimes when we are navigating a pathway through life it seems as though we are walking in the dark, there is no clear path; making decisions can be difficult and making wrong decisions can be dangerous. Allowing the light of Jesus to illuminate the path is a good idea. He will guide us through his Holy Spirit and through the principles set out in the bible. Asking questions of yourself like, ‘How does this decision make me feel in my spirit?’ or ‘Does the bible give any guiding principles for similar situations?’ or simply ‘What would Jesus do?’ can all help us to keep us walking in the light.
Sometimes though, walking in the light is more about avoiding things that are harmful to us spiritually, emotionally or physically. This may be about things we are think, things we say, things we do, things we consume or things we watch or read. In these situations the path is clear, it is the choice that is difficult; we need the grace to make the right choice.
And when we fail and stumble in the dark, as we all will, there is a way back. We just need to bring our wrong choices into the light of Jesus and allow him to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, Light of the World,
Thank you that you forgive my sin.
Give me the grace to walk each day in the light of your presence.
Amen
Light of the world
Comments