Are you afraid of the dark?

<sup>When I was younger I can vividly remember being afraid of the dark, I would sleep with a nightlight and keep a flashlight close. There was just something about the dark that was unknown, something that perhaps I was not prepared for. As I got older I stopped being afraid of the dark, as a matter of fact I actually begin to like the dark. While in college I found myself actually buying colored light bulbs and blacklights to create a dark and romantic tone in my dorm room. When it came to going out to parties the darker the room the better the party was. I had gone from a child who was terrified of and ran from the dark to a young man who embraced and loved the darkness.

Lets look to the text:

John 3:16-21

16</sup> “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

In our text today the gospel of John speaks about the difference between light and darkness. God calls us to live in the light, transparent and honest. Usually we start off this way seemingly afraid of the dark but over time we find ourselves like I did in college embracing the dark. One day we look up and we are living lives in the dark. Brothers and Sisters I encourage you to be children of the light. If their are dark places in your lives, start changing them. As Christians we should be afraid of the dark. Let us live as Christ has called us to, let us live allowing our light to shine, brightening up a dark world.

Love Pastor J