John 3:20-21(NLT)
“20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Loving the light is loving God through the Lord Jesus Christ. To do this, we must know who Jesus Christ is, and we must also learn from his example. Looking at the example of Jesus Christ will teach us how to love God in the way that God requires. In Mark 12:30, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This means that we should love God with all that we are. Jesus then tells us in Mark 12:31 that the second great commandment is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He tells us that no other commandment is greater than these two. God’s purpose for giving us life is summed up in these two commandments. The purpose of our existence is to love God by having a relationship with Him through Christ, and to love others through Christ as well. They are both necessary to stay in the light of Christ all the days of our lives.
We must be clear that loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is not a call to love darkness. Loving the Lord means carrying His love in your heart. It attracts the light to us, and it also exposes the darkness around us. The truth of the passage in John 3 declares this emphatically. This passage says that all who do evil hate the light. This gives us everything we need to know in order to discern those that are for us and those that are very often used by satan against us. Our Heavenly Father holds us accountable for making this discernment, and we’re more than capable of doing it. But the thing is, many of us that want to grow closer to the Lord also love those who hate the light. This is sometimes the issue that keeps us from going higher in Christ.
When we have a desire to hold on to friends that love darkness and do not want to know Christ, we need to examine our motives. Sometimes, we can be witnesses of God’s light in their lives, and this is a really wonderful thing. But if they’ve known you for years, have seen your walk with God, and it hasn’t rubbed off on them yet, you must be careful.
It is important to recognize and distinguish those who do not love the light in your life because Ephesians 5:11(NIV) tells us, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Our Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to tolerate anything that represents or loves darkness, because there’s nothing about darkness that can help us. There’s nothing about darkness that can bring us joy. Instead, darkness traps us and allows an opening for satan to continue to torment us in some way.
People who partake in doing things in the dark—things that are of the darkness—understand that these are not activities for the light. They know that these things are shameful, and that no harvest of excellence and goodness can come from them. If we are truly in the light, we will allow the light of Christ in us to expose their darkness. Then, the light in us not only exposes it but causes the darkness to disconnect. These relationships with those who want to remain in the darkness will ultimately fall off because of the illumination that the Christ in us brings. This is the impact that God intends the light of Christ in us to have in our lives and in the lives of others, but often we stop it. We stop the move of God’s love and light because we don’t yet have the faith in His brilliance and perfection that we should.
God tells us in Ephesians 5:15-17(NLT), “15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” The wisdom of God defeats the foolishness of the world. We must have utter faith in this. The wisdom of doing what God says is right is a magnet for opportunities that lead to the blessings we desire most. Sometimes we don’t see this because we are blinded by the influences of darkness that we refuse to part with. We must make the Lord’s plan for our lives the center of our focus, and we must seek to do what He requires.
We can figure out and know those that hate the light by their behavior. They do not want to know about God, and there is no mention of His goodness in their conversation. 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) tells us, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” Our Heavenly Father is clear in His delineation of who we are as His children and what we represent. We are children of His light!
As such, we must understand that there are more people who hate the light of Christ than those that love it. They will secretly and often overtly hate us because of the light of Christ that we represent. We all know that the devil hates the light. Jesus Christ tells us in John 8:44 that some who hate the light are children of the devil. They are blinded by satan and are not interested in helping us grow in Christ. We should never be mean or arrogant in our stand for the Lord and our commitment to stay in His light. Being mean or arrogant is not the way of Christ. So, we would be wise to always be kind and keep the peace, but to also make especially sure to keep a safe distance from those who do not love God’s light.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“Stay in The Light”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!