This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all...(1 John 1:5)
At this time of year, when we see the pretty Christmas lights, we think of the star that led the wise men to worship the King. Let's also remember that Jesus is the Light of the World as Isaiah prophesied--"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned." (Isa. 9:2)(HCSB) The following devotional, by Dr. Robert M. McMillan, speaks of how we can also reflect that light to those still in the dark around us.
Light and Darkness
We have noted that the major heresy being refuted by the apostle John is Gnosticism, which was an eclectic religion. By this we mean that it claimed that all religions were good, and took the best of them all and sought to mold them together into one higher religion. As with all, even in this day, who become involved in this philosophy, confusion is the result. Compromise also is necessary with this type of thinking. Perhaps these heretics had acquired the Parsee concept of the god of light and god of darkness. Certainly this concept would give them a compromise on the Deity of Jesus Christ, for the Parsees also recognized that there was a middle being between the god of light and the god of darkness who was able to work on behalf of men. The Gnostics granted that Jesus was more than human but contended that He was less than divine.
Having identified Jesus with God, John now declares that God is absolute light with not even the remotest possibility of darkness in His person. Light, of course, represents purity, and darkness, evil.
Jesus claims for Himself that He is the light of the world. He also imparts this light to believers so that they, in turn, are the light of the world but only in a reflective sense as the moon is reflective of the glory of the sun. John, in the next two verses, indicates that believers only have this reflective ability as they walk with the Lord. Moreover, we only have the fellowship with Jesus as we thus walk. It is, however, possible for a believer to take himself out of fellowship by walking in the darkness of carnality.
Jesus is absolutely holy and if we are to walk with Him it must be in the pathway of holiness.
Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper