Musings

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. —1 John 1:5-7 NLT

One of my most costly mistakes was all due to a cover-up. I was in a hurry, and company was arriving shortly. Somehow, I managed to spill orange juice or coffee (I now can’t remember which) on our dining room table. I swiftly grabbed a handful of paper towels, put them over the spill to absorb it, and threw a table cloth over that with a strategically placed vase and fake flower arrangement so the puffiness from the paper towels wouldn’t show. The table looked perfect once again.

And then I forgot. I had acted in haste and didn’t remember what I’d done. So, I ignored that part of the table for a couple of weeks. When I finally went to change the tablecloth, a disaster awaited. I pulled off the tablecloth, and there was my cover-up: dried-up, stained paper towels. As I pulled them off, the veneer on my expensive dining room table came off with the paper towels. I mean huge chunks of the top layer of the table. Yes. Ruined. Ugly for life. Aarrgh!! All because I wanted my dining room to “look perfect” for guests and then moved on.

John urges us in our verses above to live in the light, not in the darkness. It’s not easy to step into the light. Light exposes flaws! Don’t we sometimes prefer cover-ups and appearances over the messiness of reality? And yet … when we expose what is wrong in us and bring our authentic, broken selves from our spiritual darkness into the light of His saving love, we are healed, restored, saved! A temporary cover-up doesn’t hold a candle to an honest cleansing and fixing of ourselves.

So. Let’s confess our sins quickly and receive forgiveness. Let’s be real about our needs and concerns, telling the truth about the state of our emotions and hearts. We aren’t always “fine, thank you.” Sometimes, we’re sad, mad, confused, hurt, or troubled. If we want the genuine Christian fellowship John talks about, we need to be transparent about who we are. I’ve found that the best friendships and the closest relationships are the ones where I can be me without pretense. We all struggle. We all sin. We all need His saving grace. Let’s step into the light of His love without fear. He’s waiting. John teaches us in his letter: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:8-9 NLT).

My table still has scars from my failed attempt at fake perfection. These scars are a great reminder that hiding things is futile and sometimes very costly. Let’s choose to step into the light!

Father God, thank You for expensive lessons that teach me to be real. Thank You for loving me as I am, helping me be honest about my sins and need for forgiveness, and letting me live without pretense. It’s wonderful to be fully free in You. I am so grateful for Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

You are loved,
Sharon

 

 

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

Donate
If you’ve been blessed, keep the blessing going!
Click over to our Donation page … and thanks.

Share it. Pin it.

8 Comments. Leave new

  • Donna V Perkins
    December 30, 2024 8:25 am

    Thank you for sharing this. Scars can be a wonderful reminder of the great things God does in our lives and with our mistakes. Praise to His Name!

    Reply
  • Today’s musings hits home for me as well.
    Perhaps not “orange juice”, but rather “forgotten” garden ripe “Zucchini” that left a huge stain. Ouch! This was a hard lesson to swallow!
    I immediately thought of the verse in Hebrews 12:8
    Having reminders, or being pruned so to speak, yields peaceable FRUIT! I’m thankful of these reminders.

    Reply
    • Exactly. God’s pruning is for our good. I’m thankful that I’m learning to “step into the light” more often and just admit when I’m wrong. So much healthier and it does lead more peaceable fruit!

      Reply
  • I need a correction to the verse quoted. It was meant to say Hebrews 12:11

    Reply
  • Margaret Fowler
    December 30, 2024 6:00 pm

    What a great reminder to be honest in all things.
    Especially with our failings. I know that sometimes
    I fail to be completely honest about myself and my feelings.
    Dear Lord, forgive.

    Reply
    • It’s so HARD to be honest about failings … and yet so freeing when we finally are. I need forgiveness, too!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Next Post
Safe with Him
Previous Post
December 24 – Luke 2:8-38; Matthew 2:1-12