God Is Light

​1 John 1: 5 - 2: 2
 
John the beloved Apostle, prefaced his first letter with a self-revelation of what it was like to experience God in the flesh, clearly declaring that what he had written was taught by the Lord Himself (1 Jn 1:1-3). He describes the critical non-negotiable basis of transparent fellowship with the divine that characterize believers. This is significant, like everything in this world our aligned Divine rapport will likely result in our horizontal human relations falling into place. But John was intent in our Godward relationship in this portion of Scripture. 
 
John began by defining that God is light; positing a holy and unbiased Creator, whose very expression concerns truth, righteousness and justice, and whose relationship with man is found on the same bases. This is in sharp contrast as he juxtaposed our undeniable ‘darkness’ with His ‘light.’ Was John being facetious by questioning our cognizance in being unable to differentiate between light and darkness? If we are honest, that is exactly the issue: John draws our attention to our lack of mindfulness towards our own sins as we walk nonchalantly with our God (1 Jn 1:6). He pertinently implies that our perverse nature with its predictable mindset of only thinking about God when privation arises, accounts for our sporadic joy in the Lord. This conundrum surfaces two problems. Firstly, an analogy is appropriate: if you have never been in a war zone, it is well nigh impossible to empathize with anyone who is caught in it, and similarly, since few have been in God’s presence, our presumptuous earth-bound orientation cannot sufficiently begin to enable us to appreciate divine holiness. However, Scripture does provide us with sufficient descriptions of God’s revelation of Himself and leaves it up to us to meditate and imagine. Secondly, Star Wars aside, there is a decidedly dark side in each of us, whether we are specifically aware of it or not, which most would love to keep it under wraps. And due to our abysmal brokenness, no amount of civilizing can recover for man who God intended him to be. But because God is ‘light,’ the shedding of blood in the reconciling work of the Saviour was sorely needed (1 Jn 1:7), and only because of Christ’s blood are we able to efficaciously relate to God, by daily taking up our cross in obeying and following our Lord (1 Jn 1:7; Luke 9:23; 1 Peter 2:24).
 
What are the implications in knowing God as ‘light?’ The cross, symbolic of obedience and the death of self, therefore, reminds us of the paramount test of our individualism and sinfulness. John then encourages the confession of transgressions (i.e., all sins are against the Almighty, and it is His blood) which cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:8-9). Confession is an old term for vulnerable accountability within a safe Christian environment. This spiritual accountability with one another is a vital remedy for the ‘darkness’ inherent in all of us (James 5:16), as the alternative would be an abnegation of a clear conscience as our capacity for hiding our sins due to shame and embarrassment is legend. There is an obvious need to find safe believer(s) whom one can trust implicitly for such confessions to be forthcoming. Correspondingly, as we are in the ‘light,’ our dealings with our fellow believers ought to be on the same consistent basis as with our Lord, for only together as the body of Christ can we discover the comprehensive grace, love and joy of the Lord (cf., Eph 3:14-19).