Light vs. Darkness / Topic: Accountability

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 65; Isaiah 66; Psalm 62; John 3


Scripture: John 3:16-21
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."


Observation: This is one of the most well-known and best beloved passages of scripture in the Bible. Every time I read it I'm so grateful to God for the gift of His Son and also so grateful to know that His motivation is love and not condemnation. We condemn ourselves only if we don't receive His incredible gift. But what I want to focus on are verses 19-21. The message is very straightforward. If our actions are evil, we will avoid the light to keep our deeds from being exposed. If we live by the truth we will come to the light. Notice it doesn't say that a person who loves truth always has righteous actions. All of us have a sin nature that we sometimes succumb to, but if we have a desire to live by the truth, we will come into the light so that the changes that happen in our lives as a result of His sanctifying power will be evident to all and will bring glory to God.


Application: If we love the truth and want to live in it we need to embrace accountability. If we are in accountable relationships we are choosing to remain in the light. If we are uncomfortable with the idea of being in such a relationship it should be a huge red flag to us that we are choosing darkness rather than light. We are so good at deceiving ourselves and remaining in denial about what the true motivations of our hearts are that we need our brothers and sisters in Christ to help shine the light on us. Our culture is so individualistic that we tend to rebel against the idea of accountability. We use the need for privacy or shyness or self-sufficiency as excuses to avoid it. But if we truly want to live by the truth and show God's work of changing us "from glory to glory" we need to embrace the light by exposing our lives to others in the Body of Christ.



Prayer: Lord, help me to live always in the light by embracing accountability. I want You to work changes in me and I want the world to see that all the positive changes are due to Your Spirit working redemption into my life. May men see my good works and give glory to You because of what they see.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.