I wrote this for our church Lenten Devotional for today. Hope it blesses you.
February 23 — 1 John 1:3-10 (NIV)
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
* Our passage for today is clear: There is no sin in God at all. As the incarnate God, the light of the World – Jesus – is made know to us we are simultaneously invited into fellowship with God. Upon the moment of that invitation, i.e. the proclamation of and/or our reading of the Holy Scriptures, the testimony to such truth is revealed to us and we are faced with two stark choices:
Either 1.) Lie and say we choose be in accord with God but still act in our sin.
Or 2.) Confess our sin and receive forgiveness and purification from all unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus and thus reconcile into true fellowship with God. What will you choose this day?
Let us Pray: Loving God, allow us to choose Jesus. By your grace, may we humbly and faithfully confess our sin to you knowing that through the precious blood of Christ we are forgiven and purified in your Son’s Holy name. Father, permit us to walk in your light alone, abandoning all darkness, clinging to every ray firmly fixed in the fellowship and hope of the sincere promise that is Your might Son. Most intentionally we pray, Amen.
