John 3:20-21
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (NIV)

Our spiritual trajectory in life is set by the way we live every day. Our passage today reveals to us that if we ‘do evil’ which is a phrase that means to continually practice sinful, it can eventually produce a hatred toward the light of God.

We all sin the Bible says and sin is alive in us. If we claim this is not true, the Bible deems us to be liars. So, we cannot escape sin. However, when our daily mode of operating in this life involves sinful behavior without remorse or repentance, the direction of our life will change. First, our fear of being exposed will keep us from the light. The light becomes our enemy threatening to take from us the thing we cherish as a type of deformed treasure.

The same light, however, that can expose the evil we practice is also the light that heals, encourages, teaches wisdom, and calms anxiety.  And we must ask ourselves if our guilty pleasure is worth losing all that comes with the light.

We cannot piecemeal God. He is not a buffet table where we can pile peace on our plate but skip over a serving of holiness. God is not a chef laying out options and choices for us to choose or reject. He is the meal. Jesus said, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you.” Sin has created a conflict within us between our desire for God and our ease of choosing a less than Godly path. Nevertheless, He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us.

In the same way that evil practices can direct our life so can acts of righteousness. When we do what is right, we move into the Light. This will cause a greater awareness of God’s knowledge of our sinful ways, but also power to cleanse and wisdom to see. In the end, our habitual way of responding to life each day will determine our long-term spiritual path. Every day, every decision, and every response matters to stay in the Light.

Prayer: Lord, help me to not protect my sin, but confess it and be cleansed by You. Amen.