Bible Stories for the Young
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In the last story you heard how John wrote about how God is Life and Light and that anyone born of God must live as Jesus lived, by a whole new supernatural source.
Let’s talk a little more about what John meant when he said, “God is light. If you say you’re God’s friend, but you hide in the darkness, then you’re lying about who you really are. But if you walk out into the light where He is, then you can have true Togetherness with other Light-walkin’ Jesus-Followers... and Jesus can wash your dark sin away.”
When you hear this you might think, “What? God is light. And I have to be in the light to be His friend? What does that mean?”
I want you to stop and think about this for a minute. If you’re soft and you turn your heart to Him, you can feel the truth of this. When you sin, which is anything that is not like Jesus, then you feel yucky and kind of dark inside, don’t you?
Why? Because this is God’s unseen stuff built into the very fabric of the universe. It feels “dark” inside because sin IS dark.
There are only two sides to be on: God’s or satan’s. Light or darkness. And all our selfishness is on satan’s dark side until we make choices to let go of all that self junk. But when we sin, our prideful flesh can want to hide it or not admit we were wrong, but that is just MORE darkness. Instead, we have to run into God’s light of truth and honesty.
Let me give you a small example. Have you ever hurt a friend or someone who loves you by saying something mean or doing something unkind? Or has anyone ever hurt you that way?
When that happens, is it enough to just go on with the day without talking to them about it? It’s not, is it? When that happens, it is as if a dark wall is being built between you and that person. And that wall gets in the way of love. If you pay attention and care, you notice that dark wall.
But, God gave a way to tear down that wall. You can admit you were wrong and talk to the other person. You can be truly sorry and say you’re sorry to help mend the relationship.
When we take the time to be clear and honest about what we did wrong and say we are sorry (or when someone does that with us), then that dark wall crumbles down to the ground.
Why? Again, because this is God stuff built into the way the world works. Truth and Love is God’s language, so when you speak it, it hits a resonant frequency that rumbles and crumbles the enemy’s walls down—kinda like the walls of Jericho, huh?!
And of course Jesus is a person who is hurt with our sin, too! So we also TALK to Him and tell Him sorry when we sin.
When we really come into that Light by being honest with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (that means we don’t leave anything out or add anything extra to make something seem different than it was), then those dark walls crumble and His light and love flood in.
Saying, “I was wrong. This is what I did. I am so sorry” brings healing and freedom and Togetherness with God and Others. Why? Because it’s a God-thing written into the code of creation itself.
Now just to be clear, none of this means that God wants us to go around thinking and talking about ourselves and every bad thing we’ve ever done or thought all the time.
But a lover of Jesus and His Light never ever, ever hides sin. It’s really easy to trick yourself into thinking, “I’ll never do it again, so I don’t have to tell anyone or say I’m sorry. It’ll just be my secret. No one but God knows I did it, so I’ll just tell Him.” Ohhhh. That can be a slippery slope and a hiding place for pride. (But if you’re soft in turning your heart toward God, you can know when those dark walls are going up and your Heaven eyes are getting blurry because you need to tear down some walls by some Light-Walkin’ Truth.)
So a lover of Jesus recognizes those dark feelings and dark walls and does NOT allow them to stand and is willing and ready to let others fully know them inside and out.
If you are God’s friend, you need to be where God is—in the Light with no yucky stuff hidden.
John also wrote, “I’m writing these things to you so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, Jesus the Anointed, the righteous is right alongside the Father pulling for us... and He Himself paid for our sins by sacrificing Himself; and not just for us, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Amazing, huh?
And anyone without God’s Spirit living inside yet, including you little ones, can learn so much by paying attention to the God-Stuff all around you. Written in the code of creation made by and through Jesus, are all these little clues inwardly calling to you, “Over here. Walk this way.”
So now that you know some about how Heaven Eyes only work in the Light... go to the next story to hear more about what John said about how to know who is on this well-lit, but narrow road.