Thoughts for the Day

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him..... And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

(The Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I like to watch programmes about Alaska, and wonder how on earth men and women can survive in such harsh conditions, living for months on end with virtually no daylight and in darkness, never mind the snow and ice. The way the people look forward to the coming of the sun and daylight, desperate to make the most of the few short months of summer, came into my mind when looking at Jesus' words to Nicodemus in our reading above.

Jesus says that God sent His son to earth to save the world, but all too often people turn away from him. Put simply we condemn ourselves by choosing to reject God's offer of eternal life. We turn from the light of God, preferring the darkness of sin. We should not see the word 'sin' as some terrible evil act, it's often a multitude of small things. We speak (or think) negatively about others; we take the largest piece of cake on the plate; we imagine we are better than others; we look down on other people; or we tell little 'white' lies...... We can all think of many such sins that we commit almost without noticing them.

Those who live in Alaska would not understand a longing for the dark where everything is made so difficult, instead they long for the light. May we too long for light of God's love!

Lord of Light,
You call us to Your radiant light,
but all too often we prefer to go our own way
and condemn ourselves to the darkness.
May we respond to Your love
that offers us salvation, hope, and healing,
and come to You in repentance.
Amen.