Foggy Low Places

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10 ESV).

This is the time of the year when we might have some fog in low-lying areas. In fact, not long ago as I was driving I saw an unusual thing. When I left my neighborhood and entered the highway I looked down the road and saw the fog very distinctly ahead. It was unusual since it usually isn’t that distinctly separated from area to area. The most unusual thing about it was the anticipation of entering it. As I approached the fog bank I noticed it wasn’t nearly as thick from the inside of it as it appeared to be from the outside. There wasn’t enough contrast to really tell the difference. Then I was reminded of this passage of Scripture. How easy it is to lose sight of what is right and wrong from the inside of wrong. In “A View From The Zoo”, Gary Richmond, a former zookeeper, had this to say:

“Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention the change coming to a pet raccoon owned by a young friend of mine, Julie. She listened politely as I explained the coming danger. I’ll never forget her answer. “‘It will be different for me…’ And she smiled as she added, ‘Bandit wouldn’t hurt me. He just wouldn’t.’ “Three months later Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason. Bandit was released into the wild.”

Sin is deceptive. It often comes dressed in an adorable guise, and as we play with it, how easy it is to say, “It will be different for me.” The results are predictable. It will always lead to our destruction. There is a remedy for it though! The last two verses in our reading today make it very plain that forgiveness and restoration are available to us when we simply agree with God about our sin. He already knows what we have done. Agree with the truth of that and then you can be forgiven. Ask Him to restore you to the light and empower you to walk in His life and you will be surprised how clear your surroundings become!