Walking In The Light
Here are some reflections for anyone lost in the darkness of sin, but longing for the warmth of God’s light and fellowship.
Distorted reality
In The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, Digory and Polly travel to a world dimmed by a “tired sun.” There they meet the Queen, who in that half-light appears strikingly beautiful, powerful, and alluring. Though they sense she means trouble, Digory finds himself drawn in.
But her beauty is an illusion. Darkness distorts.
Isn’t that how sin works? In the shadows, it sparkles with promise. But anyone who has chased sin to its end knows the truth: when the moment passes, what looked desirable in the dark is revealed to be ugly in the light.
Sin never delivers on its promises.
A world of light
Later, when Digory, Polly, and the Queen return to a world filled with living light, lush forests, afternoon shade, vibrant colors, the Queen’s beauty vanishes. What once captivated now looks grotesque.
That is what the light does: it exposes reality. Sin that seemed irresistible suddenly looks silly, shameful, even disgusting. And when that realization hits, shame often floods in. Like Peter, who wept bitterly after denying Jesus, we see how much we have traded for so little, and how we betrayed Christ for a lesser lover.
So the question remains: How do we move from darkness into the light? And what do we do with the shame we carry?
The entrance
You may ask: “I’ve been walking in sin for so long, all I know is darkness, how do I walk into the light” ?
Remember the words of 1st John 1:6-7:
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
The doorway into the light is repentance and confession.
In those humbling steps, something powerful happens. We are met by the cleansing blood of Jesus. John writes, “The blood of Jesus… purifies us from all sin.” Not some sins. Not just the respectable ones. All sin.
Christ knows every corner of your heart, even the parts you keep hidden because they feel too dirty or shameful. And He cleanses them.
That is why the light is both terrifying and beautiful. Terrifying, because it exposes us. Beautiful, because in that exposure we find ourselves fully known and fully loved by the One who says, “I love you.”
Fellowship with God
God does not call us into the light merely to shame us. He calls us into fellowship, to return home. In His light, we not only see clearly and order our lives rightly, but we also enjoy the warmth of His presence. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and with God Himself.”
Works based?
At first glance, this might sound like works-based religion: “If you walk in the light, then you get God.” But remember Jesus’ words:
“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
John 12:46
We do not drag ourselves into the light by our own effort. Light invades the darkness. Christ Himself comes to rescue, not condemn. Walking in the light is not earning God. It is receiving Him.
It is not too late for you to walk into the light.
The Better Beauty
I know from experience: the darkness is hollow. Sin promises pleasure but leaves you empty. But in the light, there is peace, warmth, and fellowship with Jesus that nothing can rival.
Lewis puts it clearly. Once Polly and Digory saw the Queen in the new world’s light,
“Queen Jadis looked different. She was much paler than she had been; so pale that hardly any of her beauty was left.”
The Magician’s Nephew, p. 65–66
That is what happens to sin in the light. What once looked beautiful is revealed for what it truly is.
So step into the light. Christ is waiting there. Sin may seem captivating, but when you get into the light, “hardly any of her beauty will be left”.
Longing for more of the light,
Josh.
