Lighthouse part 5
A lighthouse doesn't depend on light from without. It lights up the darkness from within. Just like when God spoke into the darkness and said, "Let there be light." And let's be clear about something: Light trumps dark every time. Its like in Psalm 68:1, "...Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered..." When the light shines, the darkness flees. And that's why we don't use the light to EXPOSE so-called darkness in people's lives. I've quoted this verse a couple of times in this Rant series but I want to end with a part of it that I haven't really touched on: 1 John 1:15, "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." God is light. And God is love. So light is love. I think (I hope) I've kind of started to plant that seed. But I want to end at the end of the verse. There is no darkness in Him at all. How could there be when He IS light? And, extrapolating on that, WE are the light of the world. So there is no darkness in US at all. Believe it. How could there be? Look at one my favorite verses that I never hear anybody except me quote: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). If sin is unbelief, then by definition a believer cannot sin. If you ARE the light of the world, how could there be any darkness in you? "Well, its dark until you make it shine, right?" Guys... we don't MAKE it shine. The sun (the SON) shines because that's its nature. And it shines whether you believe in it or not. It doesn't always shine on YOU, and you certainly can--in a sense--hide from it. But that doesn't stop it from shining. What we do, by knowing and believing that the we not only HAVE the light, but ARE the light, is we LET it shine. We let what's inside come out. And when we stop trying to stop it, or stop trying to make it, it comes out naturally. Because, again, that's its (HIS) nature. God doesn't try to love. He doesn't love sometimes and not other times. God loves because He IS love. We shine because we ARE the light. We don't just HAVE it, we ARE it. And that's why I used the picture of the lighthouse. Wherever the lighthouse is... the light is. Because it comes from within. Light within means no darkness within. And light within coming out means things are shown as they truly are. Not exposing sin, or sinners, because we WERE sinners but then we got saved by grace, and that means we aren't sinners anymore. Jesus took away the sin of the world by giving us something (someONE, Himself, love) to believe in. He lit the light inside of us, if I can say it that way. Uncovered it. Showed us what was inside, so that we could know it and believe it. Showed us who we really are by showing us who HE really is. Not an angry, distant taskmaster who is always out to get us every time we mess up, but a loving heavenly Father who would rather die than be without us. Who gave His life (His love) FOR us, and TO us. Simply so that we could have it. Experience it. Share it. That's what the lighthouse does: It shines the light of love so that people can avoid the rocks. So they can stay on the right path. So that they can see things as they really are. The light shines, and there is no darkness at all!