Moving Day

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 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. (1 John 1:1-5 ESV). Today is moving day! We won’t actually be traveling to Texas today, but the moving company will be here to finish loading our things and putting them into storage. We’ll be going to Texas in a few days and living with our children for a little while until the house is finished. We will stay in a motel until then since my last Sunday at Santa Fe Baptist Church is not until February 28th. This will require some adaptation on my part. I don’t do well when it is dark in my surroundings. I seem to get disoriented when I wake in the middle of the night and can’t see immediately where I am. So, I have learned to use night lights and keep some light on at strategic places inside and out. Fortunately that’s usually not a problem at a motel. The parking lots are usually well lit and it merely requires the opening of the curtains a bit to get enough light into the room that I am comfortable. There have been a few times that I have been at an unfamiliar place and didn’t know where the lights were. Believe me, stumbling around in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar, dark house is not much fun. It’s always amazing to me how easy it is to bump into things in the dark even though I may have known they were there before. John in our reading toady is clear about the choice between sin and confession. It’s like entering a room at night and flipping on a light switch. Because God is light, no one living in darkness (sin) can have fellowship with him (vv. 5-6). In God’s eyes, sin is sin. There is no difference in type or degrees. Slander, gossip, lust, robbery, assault, covetousness, gluttony, and murder are all sins. In human terms, the consequences for gossip and murder are worlds apart. But their effect is the same to God. Each separates us from him. Confession is the light switch in the rooms of our hearts. The first step toward God’s light is acknowledging our sins. Confess your sins now and walk in his forgiveness. Allow his light to illuminate your heart and shine in your life.