It is a beautiful sunny morning today; a welcome relief from the gray days we’ve had recently. So I opened the blinds to let in the light. That was a mistake. We have tile floors through much of the house, and the natural light that brightened the day also illuminated the dirt and crumbs on the floor. Every. Single. Particle. It looked awful. Without the natural light, I could almost fool myself into believing that the floor was clean enough, but once the light was shining on it, that illusion was gone. There was no other way around it. My floor was dirty.
We’ve all seen this phenomenon before. Whether it’s dust particles in a ray of sunlight, complexion flaws made worse by fluorescent light, or a cavity made visible by the dentist’s special light, the simple fact is that light exposes flaws or dirt. And perhaps that’s why so many people try to stay out of the Light. People prefer to flounder in the darkness of sin, fooling themselves into believing they are good enough on their own, rather than be exposed as sinners by the Light of the world.
“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence,” Psalm 90:8 says. When we think that we’re doing a good job keeping the commandments, God shines His light into our hearts to reveal secret sins we thought we’d buried. His Law points out every single way we break His commands every day. And that’s hard to admit how bad we really are; how far-reaching our guilt really is. It’s easier to avoid that hard truth. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed,” we read in John 3:19-20.
But the story doesn’t end there. Unlike the dirt on my floor that I have to sweep, it’s not up to me to take care of my problem with sin. Jesus did that for me. “I am the light of the world,” He claims in John 8:12. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Later, in John 12:46-47, He asserts, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness…I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”
You see, the purpose of God’s light is two-fold: to expose our sins, yes, but also to point to Jesus. Without knowing we are sinners, we have no need for a Savior. Don’t stumble around in darkness anymore. Confess your sins to God and trust that He forgives you in Christ. For 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 cleanses us from all our sins,” 1 John 1:7 promises. Spread that beautiful news to others who need the Light. Because Jesus is the Light for you, for me, and for everyone else in the world. Even people who have dirty floors.
TruthNotes 