Turn the Light On!

1 John 1:10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

My master bedroom is your basic square. One wall is dominated by our king-size bed with an intricately hand-carved mahogany chest anchoring the foot of the bed. The adjoining wall is home to our dresser. As you move to the wall opposite from the bed, our exterior windows meet at the back corner of our house. From that corner juts our exercise bike positioned with a vantage point of both the door and the television opposite our bed.

A few nights ago, my husband preceded me in sleep. This is a rare occurrence in our household and I am less than an expert at navigating our bedroom in the dark. The night was moonless and overcast, so our room was utter darkness. As I stumbled around our room, I knocked my right shin into our exercise bike and my left knee into the trunk. The following morning I was greeted by two lovely bruises to remind me of my midnight escapade.

This morning my reading is the 2nd chapter of 1 John. John is calling Christians to a remembrance of the teaching which laid the foundation of the early church. Several topics are addressed here but today I am drawn to Verse 9. "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." My heart is pierced by this truth.

• Choice - The other night I chose not to turn on a light because I didn't want to disturb my hard-working sweetheart. I could have easily used my cell phone or side lighting to avoid the impending disaster. When I hold resentment in my heart, I fumble in the dark by choice. Jesus is the ultimate flashlight source of light. He is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). I must decide to access the Light.
• Contusion - Just as my legs showed the obvious signs of my blundering around in the dark, so too will my life display the scars of carrying bitterness. When I hold onto anger, I wrongly assume I am somehow punishing the other person. As my former pastor, Jack Graham has observed, "Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." It is my soul that is distorted by the darkness of hatred.

Jesus, today I ask you to search my heart. If there is any person toward whom I am harboring an offense, I pray that I would allow Your light to infiltrate my darkness. Today I'm going to turn on the Light!