I was listening to Zac Poonen teaching from the first verses of Genesis 1 this morning while using the walking machine. God separated the light from the darkness. He is still separating light from darkness. And he has translated us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his son. He also wants to separate light from darkness in the churches.
But most churches are a mix of light and darkness- and the darkness is not minor. It is usually related to worldliness and tradition. Jesus has told us to hate the world and he has told us to not let religious traditions take hold. Both have a way of taking the place of Christ, if we let them through ignorance and laziness.
The reality is that we don’t hate the world- we love it: materialism, fashion, self-promotion, reputation, glamour, money, possessions, self-centeredness, pride, and greed. The reality is that we aren’t really different from non-Christians. And our traditions are also dear to us and comfort us and so we hold on to them and trust in them. In our holding to these things Christ is pushed aside.
But God still wants to separate the light from the darkness. God is light. Christ is light. The written Word is light. And we are supposed to be the light of the world. But is our light hid under the bushel of tradition and worldliness? Are we, each one of us, willing to let God do the separating? Are we willing to pay the price? Actually, there is a price to pay whether we are willing to cooperate with God, or not.
