Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Hard Way

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.  John 3:19-21

Back when I was younger, there were many things that I would learn the hard way.  For example, most of us had the experience of the flame on the stove (I have to realize that many of you grew up with electric stoves that have no flame whatsoever).  Mom would tell us not to put our hands near the flame so as not to burn our hands.  My mom would never tell me something to harm me, but again, I had to learn the hard way.  I put my hand out over the flame one time too many and . . . OUCH!  That’s the last time I put my hand over the fire.  I had learned a very simple truth.

This brought me to the question of our knowledge of God’s truth.  We study and read the Bible all the time, but many see God as this mysterious myth or nonexistent being.  Furthermore, they will question whether Jesus Christ existed and how many have used faith for wrongdoing.  How do we know that God is true?

We have been shown the light through our own experiences to know salvation through Jesus Christ.  Today’s verses talk about truth versus evil and light versus darkness.  To know the truth, the simple answer is Jesus tells us so.  However while we believe in God’s word, this is also dangerous because if we just go simply believing ‘because God said so,’ we could just as easily be led astray by someone who puts on a mask saying they are with God (some ‘prosperity’ preachers would fit under this umbrella).  Living in the light does not mean you will not experience struggle or that we will live a life devoid of trials.  What we learn is that God is there with us every step of the way, and when we have made our choices for Him, the experience always shows us light and not darkness.  We find joy and not sorrow.  In time, we welcome the trials where darkness comes because through God’s Holy Spirit, God’s light shines through us for all to see!


The key to unveiling God’s light has always been within us.  Our times of darkness did not oppress us in the bondage of sin.  He sent His Son to show us the light and free us from it.  God’s word is but a reminder of the light we have, and through our experiences, we have proof of its truth beyond a shadow of doubt.  What questions of God’s faithfulness can you answer through your past?  How can this assure you of your walk of faith?  My prayer is that we embrace the light of God given us even if we learn it the hard way.  Amen.

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