John 3:19 (NLT)
And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
We are all offered a choice. Between good and evil. Between the light and the darkness.
In a world where there is so much gray, GOD contrasts by shining a brilliant light on the choices we make. The choice and the weighty consequences of our choice are even given. To choose light is to choose GOD in all his glory, salvation, wholeness, transparency, and peace. To choose the dark is to reject GOD as God, to release our life raft, to remain broken, to hide in denial, and to struggle in uncontrollable chaos. The light leads to life; the darkness to death. (GOD loves us enough to share the consequences of both ways in his Word many times.)
Pray and take an honest look at your soul (not in the mirror this time). Which choice are you making today? Not a prayer you prayed five years ago, but the choices of today. If we’re honest, we find that we often wallow in the darkness. Because its comfortable there. We can hide our sins and secrets, attempt to handle our own problems, live in denial so long it blinds us to its evils. We fear people will find out things so we shove them further and further into the darkness of the inside.
In the final scene of the film 8 Mile, Eminem illustrates the power of bringing all of our baggage into the light. He’s involved in a rap battle, which is essentially you rhyming about how great you are and trying to humiliate the other person. At what had been the culmination of an emotional time for him, he unleashes a verse in which he airs out all his dirty laundry. Scathingly admits his weaknesses and laments them. Gets everything out in the open so that there was nothing left to say or hide. The crowd raucously cheers at such honesty and his opponent is so shocked by him so freely confessing his flaws that he has nothing to rap against.
Same goes for our adversary. When we choose the light and allow GOD to penetrate and remove the evil from our lives, our enemy has no ammunition to sling at us. It's already in the spotlight and on the big screen. Then we can say, “Look how awesome GOD is. He found all this junk deep inside me and still loved me anyway. Loved me too much to let me stay that way!”
Choose light.
