Who Turned On The Light?

2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I was sitting and meditating on this thought.  Light dispels darkness. If you walk into a dark room, the only way to be able to see is turn on the light. So what happens when we turn the light on?  It shines in the room and chases away the darkness.  We couldn't expel the darkness by focusing on it and trying to move it out of the room. All we need do is to release an energy that opposes the darkness. Darkness is the absence of light.  We can't "will" darkness out of the room. We need to engage that which is absent....light.

When it comes to love and hate.  Hate is the absence of love. We cannot guilt hate out of a person. We cannot convince hate out of a person. It's simliar to expelling darkness...we need to employ that which is absent - love.

I believe sin and righteousness have a similar polarity as do light and darkness, love and hate.  Sin is produced out of the absence of righteousness.  Paul encourages us in Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The word "walk" is the Greek word peripateo meaning "to be occupied with". So Paul is telling us not to be occupied with the flesh but be occupied with the Spirit.

Paul said there is therefore now no condenmation for those who are in Christ and the way we avoid condemnation is by being occupied with the things of the spirit - the knowledge of our righteousness in Christ. 1 Cor 3:7 Paul tells us what brings condemnation ... Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, (the Law of Moses/The Ten Commandments) brought glory ...vs 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! Paul said earlier in verse 6 that the letter kills but the spirit gives life.  What is the letter?  The Law of Moses. He referred to the Law of Moses as the ministry of death; the ministry which brought condemnation.

 1 Corinthinas 15:56 tells us "the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law."

So if we want to walk free from sin, we cannot do it by focusing on our sin and trying to "will" it out of our lives, trying to not sin.  Paul told us in Romans, chapter 7 that the very thing he didn't want to do, he did.  And that which he did want to do, he couldn't. Trying to avoid sin is like trying not to allow darkness in a room.  Darkness is made alive by the absence of light.  Sin is made alive by the absence of our knowledge of righteousness brought about by faith in Christ.  The law was given to reveal our sin, not to do away with it.  Only Jesus can dispel the sin in our lives. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!

Turn on the light of the Good News; the Gospel of Jesus and let that light shine!