The 5th Petition

DAILY READING

 I John 1:5-10; 2:9-11

Small Group Discussion Points

DEVOTION / REFLECTION

Hide and Seek

by Elaine Pierce

Our 3-year-old grandson loves to play 'hide and seek,' and he especially loves to hide in the bathroom with the lights off.  We sit in the dark, huddled close together, and grandpa looks for us.  Leo is delighted when the door slowly opens, and he yells 'boo' as grandpa 'finds' us and floods the room with light.  The minute he is found, he begs to play again, and runs back to the same hiding place, where he waits with 100% assurance that he will be found.  The dark room is scary only for a short while, and Leo looks forward to once again being in the light.  

The apostle John spends a lot of time in this short letter talking about light and darkness, and how as believers we need to walk in the light.  Take a look at the way he contrasts light and darkness:

• God is light; in him there is no darkness
• Walk in the light, as he is in the light
• Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness
• whoever loves his brother lives in the light
• whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness

So what does it mean to walk in the light?  Does it mean to be a good Christian?  Does it mean to serve others?  Those are certainly good things, but I think John is urging us to confess our sins daily - to expose our life to the light of Christ and ask for forgiveness for our sins.  

We are working our way through the Lord's Prayer every Sunday.  Today we are focusing on "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  What better way to recognize our sins than to walk in the light?  The light of Christ shines a spotlight on our sin, and he offers us forgiveness and grace.  We don't have to hide in the darkness - he knows what we are doing whether we confess or not, but walking in the light offers us hope and grace and mercy.

Our grandson Leo knows that the darkness is temporary, and he knows that we will always find him and bring him back into the light.  My friends, let us walk in the light of Jesus this week - he is longing for us to join him.  Thanks be to God for this incredible gift.