The Impossibility of Coexistence

Wow, has it already been a week since I've sat down and blogged? Hmmm, suppose so.

Anyways....

I have a tragic flaw, or so I've been told. Apparently, I'm much too positive. According to some, even my complaining and whining is positive. How do I accomplish this? I have no idea, but I must be a pleasant complainer if that's the case.

All that to say, there is often a bright side to things. For example, spending less money on things you want in the now in order to save up money for things you want/need in the future is a great thing. Sure, in the moment it's tough and annoying. You don't get to buy as many things for you, or go out to eat whenever you want to, but the inconveniences in the now pay off in the future when you can make a down payment on a house, or (fill in the blank with a positive thing)...

So here's a wonderful thing I've discovered. In the past I always saw it in more of a negative light, but it's actually quite liberating.

I John 1:5-10 says this...
"5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

In the past, this was always just a reminder of my abysmal failures and how short I come up in my pursuits of holiness. "God is light, but I mess up so much... my darkness is so great... how can I have fellowship with God..."

It wasn't like I didn't already know that sin separates man from the Lord, who is holy. If this was all this passage meant, it would just be condemnation; it would be further putting into my head the fact that I'm a failure. But here's the blessed truth. It's actually a battle-plan to protect your relationship with God.

"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." Light reveals things; you can't see things without light. Darkness, on the other hand, is the absence of light; darkness is hidden from the light.

So to live in darkness doesn't mean you're not perfect; it means things are hidden. Maybe it's a hidden sin; maybe it's something we're trying to keep from the Lord so that He won't get his hands on it and change our plans; maybe it's a lack of honesty... but it comes down to something that is hidden from view of the one you claim to have a relationship with.

But this isn't condemning; it's liberating, because light and darkness can't exist at the same time. After all, darkness is defined as the absence of light. So if your bedroom isn't dark, it's because the lights are on. But the room is dark, it's because the lights are off (duh...). Which means, the way to eliminate the darkness is to turn the lights back on.

In the case of relationships, it's the same thing. When there are hidden things, however they may manifest, they will affect the relationship. You can't fellowship with God when things are in the dark; you can't fellowship with your fellow man when things remain in the dark. Sure, you can get along for a while and be OK, but eventually things will surface.

Take anger for example... If I harbor anger towards another without discussing it, it only takes time before I get so annoyed and fed up with them that it becomes obvious. It starts affecting my relationship with that person. I can no longer be as close to them because there is hidden anger between us.

The cure? Bringing it into the light and destroying it there.

And the maintenance of a relationship entails keeping things in the light. For Hannah and I, it means keeping clear lines of communication open. It means allowing her to have access to my life, and her allowing me access to hers.

With the Lord, it's the same. To claim fellowship with God means that I'm living in the light. Things aren't hidden. I'm not trying to deny Him access to a part of my life. I'm not trying to keep something out of His sight, lest He find out that I'm not perfect. Rather, the relationship and fellowship is made evident by the level of trust, exhibited by keeping things in the light.

So when we examine ourselves, and find there is "darkness" in a relationship, it's nice to remember... "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

I'll confess; lately I've been living in the dark. In relationships with both humans and the Lord. But praise the Lord He has shown me (not through a preacher, not through a Christian living book by John Doe, but by sitting down with Him) that all there is to do is turn on the light and let things be revealed for what they are. Then the Lord will see to it that I am forgiven and cleansed, and my fellowship with Him will be restored.

And for human relationships, I need to keep the light on so that my fellowship with them can be true. Otherwise, I deceive myself and do not live by the truth.