Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.
John 3:18-21
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Preferring the dark
The verses before this say that God sent his Son to save the world. Then comes something that sounds harsh. Whoever does not believe is condemned already. That judgment doesn't wait until the end of time. But this is no courtroom. The judgment is that a light has been switched on, and people preferred the dark.
The reason is easy to recognise: they don't want to be seen. Yet it ends on a hopeful note. Whoever comes into the light shows that God was at work in what he did.
Question for today
Am I walking towards the light today, or skirting round it a little?
Prayer
Father, your light sometimes frightens me. Give me courage to come closer anyway. Let your light show what you have done in me. Amen.
My prayer
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