Darkness And Light
As kids, we played games outside a lot. One popular game was the game of hide and seek. We especially loved playing such a game at night when it was dark.
My four brothers and I would also wait late at night for our parents to take a short trip out to the local convenience store, and when they did, we would get up in the pitch dark and play hide and seek in the house. Even as kids, we understood how much easier it was to hide in the dark than in the light.
Such a game gives a reason for hiding in the darkness. But real life and relationships do not require darkness. In real life, there’s a reason given for why someone might love darkness rather than light.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Whenever someone desires something that would be considered wrong by God and determines they will engage in it anyway, the act of hiding it is called darkness. The word evil used here can sound severe, but it actually speaks about things known as unacceptable or indecent. The Greek word itself could have been translated as diseased, derelict, vicious, mischief, malice, bad, grievous harm, lewd, or wickedness.
Growing up as a kid, there were things I wanted that I knew my mom would not want me to have, and to have them, I would hide them and pretend I had complied with her wishes. But in my conscience, I knew I was being dishonest with her. Looking back with maturity and better understanding, I can see how it damaged what had once been a close relationship with her at that time. Our relationship suffered without her doing anything to damage it. My desire for something I was never meant to have or engage in caused the damage. Of course, later in life, as we both had come to Jesus and were walking in the lights, our relationship was repaired and healthy.
If something I seek requires me to sneak to do it or feel I need to hide it from others or someone significant in my life who loves me and Jesus, then I should not deceive myself by thinking it is harmless. It is darkness. There’s no real fellowship in darkness. The healthy attributes of real fellowship cannot be attained by means of darkness.
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Jesus never put on a false pretense for anyone. Jesus was not something different away from people than He was when He was with them. There was no pretending to be with Jesus. He was real, authentic, and consistent. He was not up to anything bad. He came to do good.
If I desire a healthy, vibrant relationship with Jesus and those He has placed in my life who love Him, I need to walk in the light. I need to be up to some good. I need to be honest and real. I benefit when I cherish the light and detest darkness. Darkness and light do not mix. Just enter a dark room and turn on the light switch, and you’ll find the darkness disappears because light expels darkness every time. It will always be easier to function in a lighted room than it is in a dark room. So it is with healthy relationships. They happen when they are full of light.
A meaningful, rich, full, and healthy relationship is open, honest, and without false pretense. Darkness and light will never mix. We cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with Jesus simultaneously. We may try to say we do, but God knows the truth. Darkness will also keep us aloof from others we know who love Jesus and are walking in the light with Him. An occasional encounter may occur because pretending in short stints is possible, but a healthy, deepening relationship will be far from the person who walks in darkness because darkness and light do not mix. If a person loves darkness, they will avoid or withdraw from those of the light.
