Scripture: 1 John 1
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Devotion: One part of our vision statement here at Sunnybrook is all about growing and deepening people’s relationship with Jesus. And as we approach the New Year, you may have resolutions (or plans for resolutions) around that exact thing. So, I thought, why don’t we get a jumpstart on that?
Over the next week, we will read one chapter a day from either 1 John, 2 John, or 3 John. Since they are short books of the Bible, you will have read through all three by the end of the week. So, if one of your goals is growing in your relationship with Jesus by diving into the Word more, you will be off to a great start. In addition, these books are a great spiritual growth tool in terms of challenging the reader on what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus.
As the heading for the second part of this chapter so clearly communicates, John, the author of the book, talks about light, darkness, sin, and forgiveness. He draws the contrast between God being light and what it looks like to walk in the darkness, between the forgiveness found in Christ alone, and acting as if we have not sinned.
I don’t know about you, but I find such beauty in thinking about God as light. Light brings a sense of hope and peace. And not only is He light, but there is no darkness in Him. Someday, we will get to experience that in its fullness. But in the meantime, we can experience it through the redemption that is offered to us through Jesus Christ. We simply must admit that we are sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God and in need a Savior. Because God is faithful and will forgive us for all our sins, just like He has promised to do.
Reflect:
- Do you struggle to live as though you are truly forgiven? Let this be a beautiful reminder to you: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).