“God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5b

The words of the Word – they often read eloquently and, especially in translations such as the King James Version, I am delighted as I read the prose and turn of words. In the above statement “God is light”, it seems unnecessary to add “and in him there is no darkness at all”. However, therein lies the eloquence, the reassurance of the truth that God truly is entirely “light”.

I think about us. We too are to walk in the light, even as God is light. I picture in my mind an attractive covered box with a lid, symbolizing us as we walk into church. The box looks sturdy, well-kept, the lid nicely secured on top. If all goes well, we think, we will leave the church exactly as we entered it. Intact. Unchanged. Secure.

But what happens if we allow the lid to our covered box to be ajar? What if we let the Holy Spirit come in and “rearrange” us as He will? What if we throw caution to the wind and let ourselves be changed if the Holy Spirit should nudge us? That takes an agreement from us, a willingness to trust those around us, certainly trust in God that He has better ideas than we.

To go even further, what if we don’t just let the lid to our covered box be ajar? What if we remove it altogether, letting the Light of God rush in and rearrange every corner, shedding light in every shadowy place? What I know for sure is that any secret corner of our box that we retain and restrain from surrendering to God becomes the shackles that bind us. Whatever we resist giving up becomes our ball and chain from which the enemy can come in and trick us with lies and deceit. The very things that we think keep us “in control” is what keeps us in bondage. God’s way really is the best way and we can trust Him. After all, God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.