I wanna be in the light!

John 3:20 "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed." I don't know about you, but I don't like it when I get called out for messing up. Whether it's by accident or as a result of missing the mark in my life, I hate that feeling I get when someone says, "Hey buddy, you sure dropped the ball on that one." My face gets red, my pits get sweaty, and my stomach thinks I'm on the steep drop of a roller coaster. It is humiliating. There is nothing pleasant about having to be corrected. So much so, that lots of people will avoid accountability at all costs. They'll point to others as the cause of their errors. They'll avoid spending time with those loved ones that aren't afraid to confront them. Some will even use drugs, alcohol, or promiscuity to dull their senses to that humiliating feeling of correction. These people would be called fools by proverbial standards. They avoid correction, and thus only compound their folly by continuing to walk in it. I think it's interesting that we often avoid correction that we so desperately need to fix our lives. John refers to people that do wicked things as ones who avoid the light. Of course, his reference to Light means Jesus, who is the light of the world. He is also truth, and not just any truth. He is the truth that sets us free. "Free from what?", you might ask. Free from the fear of humiliating correction. There is nothing to fear in bringing your mess-ups and mistakes to Christ. He won't meet you with ridicule or make you a laughing stock, much like the world will. He will embrace you, and love you. He will correct you through the Holy Spirit's conviction, but it is all in effort to restore you. It is interesting that John talks about hiding from the light and staying in darkness. Light will always overpower darkness. Even the tiniest pinhole can let enough light in to illuminate a pitch black room. In fact, the thicker the darkness, the more pervasive even the most minute beam of light is. And usually, it's that light to which we are drawn. As anyone that's ever been in a pitch black place, searching for a way out can attest, that tiny glimmer of light brings the greatest feeling of hope, relief, and freedom. So it is with the Light of this world. That thing you're doing to numb the nagging feeling (I know it's there because we all have it) that something isn't right isn't going to save you from anything in the long run. It will just prolong the inevitable. Let Christ be your light. Let Him shine in your life. If you've never trusted Christ with your entire life, or just certain pieces of it, what's holding you back? What's the worst that could happen? Christ never killed anyone. He only healed. Be healed and be encouraged! "If Christ is for us, who can be against us?" Have a blessed weekend.