Amazing how two people can have the same experience and perceive it differently.
I recently read a short article based on the Biblical passage found in1 John 1:5-10. The focus of this piece was that sin may be hidden from others but never from God. Other scriptures were used to remind the reader that God sees every failure. I came away, unsettled, dogged by an image of an angry, vengeful God.
Tonight I read those verses myself and came away exuberant, with a sense of God who is light, who has no darkness at all. I was reminded of the way he has so often taken “bad” circumstances and worked good from them. He doesn’t have to shout and threaten the darkness when it comes; He dispels it by his very presence. I was filled with desire to draw closer to this God of strong light, to bask in the beauty of Him and to luxuriate in the security of his goodness.
As I read further I saw this light operating beyond my own life. Living in the light of God’s presence means fellowship with others who also live there. And it means the freedom of being released from all sin because God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. Such freedom! His love draws me like a warm fire on a cold, damp night.
There’s a moral to my story. If you read or hear words about God that don’t resonate with your experience of Him, don’t assume they are right. Find other opinions. Best of all, prayerfully read the primary source yourself. And God, who gave his Word for our good, will speak in your heart what he wants you to hear.
Note: Lectio Divina is an ancient Christian practice of praying the Scriptures. A classic on the subject has been written by M. Basil Pennington. It’s called Lectio Divina: Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures.
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