Read John 1:1-13

“And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5)

Light always banishes darkness. Yet, no matter how vigorous the light, true darkness finds a way to hide. It digs deeper holes, sews thicker veils, and seeks out darker corners. Just as the shining sun at noonday can be blocked out within a cave, so too can the brilliance of Christ’s light be obstructed by the recesses of the sinful heart.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Christ, the light of the world, came to illuminate the darkness, but the darkness did not immediately yield; instead, it hid away from the light! John tells us in our verse that the darkness did not comprehend the light. The word comprehend means, more literally, to grasp or to seize. When Christ, the Light, entered the world, the darkness did not grasp Him! Rather than being humbly exposed, the world pridefully ran away!

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:19–21)

What a tragedy! Such is the response of the evil heart! It would rather plunge deeper into the darkness of sin than ascend to the heights of Christ’s light! It would rather tighten its shackles to the gloom of brokenness than be restored by the liberating light of Christ! It would rather stumble in the blindness of the night than walk with the clarity of sight in the light! Oh, how foolish is the heart of man! It is only by the sheer mercy of God that mankind could ever be enlightened.

Beloved, does this truth not fill you with the great privilege of being called a child of God? That He has allowed you to escape your own darkness? That He has dispelled the shadows of your shame and condemnation? That Christ has defeated the blackness of all your sin through the light of His Gospel? What a mystery that God loves us so!

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)

Therefore, dear friend, live humbly in the light in which God has paid a high price to bring you! Grasp it! Let Christ continue to expose the caves and corners of your heart. Ascend the peaks of His radiant Gospel, where liberation and resurrection life awaits!

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13–14)

‍