“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” – John 3:19-21
There are some things that just don’t like the light, and at the top of the list are these four things: One cockroaches. Two, rats. Three, teenagers making out in a dark room, when a parent comes in and turns on the light. And four, a thief in the night. None of those four like the light. Why? Because the light says, “You’re up to no good!” So, obviously, there’s a tendency for roaches, rats, smooching teenagers, and thieves in the night to run for cover when the light comes on. They don’t want their deeds exposed.
Really, this is true for all of us. The closer we get to the Light, the more our sins are exposed. The closer a person is to Christ, the more aware they are of their sinfulness. The further a person is from Christ, the more unaware they are of their sinfulness and they tend to think that they’re basically pretty good people. So, when the Light exposes who they really are, they prefer to flee toward the darkness.
But there is good news in all of this. John 1:9 says, “There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” And 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” In other words, in Jesus, we are made clean – we don’t have to fear exposure. He is the Light that leads us into righteous living.
