A New Devotion - Switch on the Light

Here's a new devotion that I wrote. It's based on the passage below. You can find a recording of this devotion at the bottom of the page.

1 John 2:7-11 [Contemporary English Version]

 My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one you were first given, and it is the message you heard. But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.

If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them. If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.

Switch on the Light

Every morning, sometime around 3:30, I need to get up and go to the bathroom. I guess that’s just the consequence of keeping older. Now, at that time, everything is still quiet and dark. But you know, it’s interesting, when I’m home, I don’t need to turn on the light. You see, since I do it every morning, I’m so used to making the trip, I could literally do it with my eyes closed; therefore, I’m comfortable staying in the dark. Of course, that changes when I’m visiting family out-of-town or staying in a hotel. On those very rare occasions, I’m probably going to stump my toe or smack my shin, if I try to make my way from the bed to the bathroom in the dark. And so I switch on the light. 

And after reading this little passage from John’s first letter, I think the same kind of thing can apply to how we choose to live our lives. Remember, John wrote, “If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them. If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.” [1 John 2:9-11, CEV] Now that’s what he said, but it seems to me that if we’re not careful, it wouldn’t be difficult for us to become accustomed to wandering around in the dark. In other words, if we decide to hate those people whom we may not like, if we choose to treat them with disrespect or indifference, I mean, if this is our default feeling as we navigate through life, then I think it would be easy for us to become comfortable with hate. As a matter of fact, if hate becomes part of our lifestyle, we might choose to remain in the dark as often as we can and turn from the kind of life Christ has called us to live.

And that’s the reason, I think it’s important for us to resist the temptation to confuse what’s familiar and comfortable with what’s right. You see, as people who take seriously the word and will of God, we might want to make the decision that, instead of hate, we’re going to show love to others, including to those we might not like. And we’re going to it by being intentionally gentle and kind and by being open and responsive to their needs. In other words, although we might become so used to living in the dark, I think we need to decide that we’re going to switch on the light.