Living in the Light

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting light."

This is the verse just 3 verses prior to "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

Time for a sports analogy!

If I want to be good at basketball, I'm going to practice and I'm going to give it all I have every time I practice. But, if I'm practicing by myself, who's going to be there to tell me if my shot can be improved? Who's going to be able to correct my footwork if I'm practicing moves below the basket? You can get pretty good at certain aspects of basketball by yourself, but even NBA players have a coach that helps keep them on a track. They need someone to correct them when they're wrong and remind them what work they can put in to keep getting better.

If I have a coach that I trust, I'm going to want to practice in front of him. I'm going to realize that the criticism and discipline that he forces on me actually makes me better and helps my game improve.

People who don't trust God, they choose to live in the darkness. They don't want people to see the mistakes they're making. They fear correction and run and hide from discipline.

People who trust God trust that living in the light is a beneficial place to be, even when our lives are filled with sin. Attempting to hide our sin is a sign of not trusting that God has power over it, and not trusting that God loves us through our mistakes, which He promises us that He does through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Living in the light is opening your life up to God to correct and lead you away from your sins. It's showing Him that you trust His discipline to take you to a place you can't get on your own. He's the Coach that can take you to the next level that  you were never able to attain on your own.