5 This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 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 cleanses us from all sin. ~ 1 John 1:5-7
Because of the love of God, He has lavished grace upon us. Because of that grace, we have a blessed hope. A promise to hold to. See, sometimes the world around us can feel heavy—full of challenges, uncertainties, and divisions. It can feel like it’s weighing us down, yet, because of God’s love and grace, we are unfazed.
Because God has made us a community of faith, united in one sacred space, bonded together and seeking the One who is light, the One who casts out all darkness. Therefore, we strive to live in that light by running to it and away from the darkness…
John declared in all confidence that God is light. What was he saying? John was affirming that God is completely:
- Pure and Holy
- There is absolutely no darkness at all in God
- He’s morally perfect and the source of all truth
- There is no relative truth
- There is no: your truth, my truth, someone else’s truth
- There is one truth, God’s truth
- He’s good, kind, and forgiving
- He is never changing but always the same
According to John and also to Jesus Himself, Jesus came so that we might know the Father.
We were once separated from the holiness of God. Yes, the Israelites saw God’s holiness from a distance, but a veil separated all of mankind, including them, from a perfect and holy God.
Jesus came to bridge that chasm by dying on the cross for us—for our sins, and thus, through His body, He has made a way back to God the Father.
At the point of death, the veil in the temple separating the holy place from the most holy place, or the holy of holies, was torn in two, signifying our permission to enter God’s holiness—the very Presence of God.
This is reason we have hope. This is why we aren’t phased by the darkness because we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We are no longer our own, but bought by the LORD God Himself. We have been redeemed, restored, and renewed.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know Why You Hope.