Eastertide
April 8, 2021
Scripture Reading:
1 John 1:1-2:2
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. -1 John 15-10
Sin is defined as being separated from God or missing the mark. These definitions may be the same, for we most likely miss the mark when we are separated from God. Having enough light to clearly see our actions and reactions and ascertain whether they are on target with God’s ways is challenging. From birth to the grave, we develop what I call filters in our being that alter the way we view everything. Some of those filters are good. Babies learn not to touch a hot stove, and that filter is recorded in their brains. I love the song You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught* from the musical South Pacific. It describes well the way our viewpoints about others are carefully shaped by our families and society over time, whether the image we take in is accurate or not. I am confident that most of us are some types of -ist—racists, sexists, classists—at some point in our lives.
Jesus taught us how to see the other through the bright light of God’s love, which dissipates the lesser filters that separate us from God, hopefully permanently burning the bad ones away. As we are called to be the Body of Christ in the world today, we must be intentional about both learning from the light of Christ and reflecting the light for others.
Prayer: Lord, help us clean out our dust-filled filters and be the light you have called us to be. Amen.
*https://www.google.com/search?q=you+have+to+be+carefully+taught+lyrics&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS922US922&oq=you+have+to+be+caref&aqs=chrome.2.0i355j46j0j69i57j0l3j46j0l2.22796j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.