Entering into light

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn.3:16). Some preachers give the impression that this is a one-time experience that settles us into eternal life. But is eternal life only about living forever, (remember, those who go to hell also live there forever), or is it about partaking of the divine life (2Pe.1:3,4)?

The Bible calls this experience as coming into light from darkness (Jn.12:46). Darkness represents ignorance and sin where sinners hide their secrets, and light stands for life before the eyes of God where everything is open and nothing is hidden (Jn.3:20,21). In this sense, entering into life, or light, is not just about confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness, but it is also about letting more and more of our life come under the rule of God and becoming more and more like Him.

It is not just that we confess our sins because we need forgiveness, after which we live forever. We have been born with a sinful nature and when we sin, it comes naturally from that nature (Ps.51:5). Watch any child growing up and beginning to tell lies, steal, fight, etc., without any training! Now God wants to to transform us by replacing this nature with His divine nature.

"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (Jn.3:20). We need to understand this as referring not just to sinners who refuse to come to Christ, but also to where we can get stuck, after becoming children of God.

When we are born again God forgives our sins, adopts us as His children, and gives us a new heart that does not want to sin but to do the will of God. This is such a great elevation for us, from being children of the devil to becoming children of God, and being taken from the domain of darkness to light. But then we must not forget that there is much more to it that God is offering us, to make us like Him in His character.

This transformation does not take place all of a sudden when we are born again, or when we are resurrected to be with God. But this is a slow process that takes place every time we are tempted. Temptation is basically to be faced with a choice, between what we would like to do and what God wants. Since we have the remains of our old sinful nature even after we have been born again, what we ourselves want is usually selfish, sinful, and against the will of God. What we need is to choose to do the will of God at such times, after denying ourselves (Lk.9:23). This is when we move a little more into the light and away from the darkness.

But what do we naturally feel like when we are tempted, or after we have yielded? We try to justify ourselves, blame things on others or our circumstances, or to find excuses. That is how we can resist the light and stay on in the darkness. If we do that, we cannot become more like Jesus. But we stagnate or backslide.