The darkness is passing away
and the true light is already shining.
1 John 2:8
“God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Gen 1:3)
In the beginning, God’s first “invention” was light. It conquered the darkness, the chaos, and the formless void that ruled … until God spoke.
In Genesis 1, we see God’s original intent. He made all things “good.” In Genesis 3, however, darkness re-asserted itself. We call this darkness “sin.” It is not a physical darkness, but a darkness of the heart. It is internal. It is spiritual. It is man’s rebellion against a God of light.
Therefore, when John the Apostle says that, “The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining,” he’s not talking about the kind of light that suns and stars and even flashlights make. The darkness that “is passing away” is spiritual. Sin is being defeated. How? A true light is shining. Some sort spiritual power is conquering the darkness of human sin.
What is this “true light”? Ultimately, it is Jesus, of course (see John 8:12). But John allows you and me to join heaven’s conquering of the darkness (see Matthew 5:14). In what way? Well, in today’s verse he tells us that the true light is love. (And yes, we get to participate in that.)
Indeed, in the verses surrounding today’s verse, he talks about the kingdom’s new and glorious (shining-like-a-light) commandment. Jesus once said, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another” (John 13:34). The apostle in 1 John 2 isn’t as succinct as Jesus; rather, it takes him a paragraph to talk about this “new commandment,” saying, “10 love[ your] brothers and sisters … 15 [and] do not love the world.”
But go back and simplify this truth. If we want the darkness of sin to pass away, we have an anti-viral medication: Love! And while God himself is love, we can flashlights.
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who wants
an Ever-Ready battery
for his flashlight
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