A New Year’s Spiritual Inventory
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you, they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”
While the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke tell of the birth of Jesus biographically, the Gospel according to John recalls it theologically. It seems that Matthew and Luke want us to experience the humanity of Jesus while John points us to his divinity. Matthew and Luke “rub dirt” on the story of Jesus birth inviting us to experience the very human struggle and the anxiety of Mary and Joseph while John lifts our eyes to experience the grandeur of his divine advent for the entire cosmos. Let’s look at John’s theological reflections on Jesus’ advent.
John’s cosmic poem begins with a declaration that Jesus is the Eternal Word. He writes in John 1:1-3 (NIV):
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
When John says that Jesus is “the Word,” he uses the Greek word “logos.” It was a term used in Greek philosophy to describe the “divine wisdom of the Universe” that orders the cosmos. John enhances this Greek philosophical understanding, and he personalizes it. The Word is not just a nebulous, vague philosophical force according to John. He’s a Person and his name is Jesus.
When John in his opening words writes, “In the beginning,” he is harkening back to the first words in the Book of Genesis. Maybe you’ll remember that the first words of Genesis were likewise “In the beginning.” John wants his readers to know that Jesus was the eternal God who was “in the beginning” and he created the heavens and the earth. Just like the story in Genesis 1 tells a story of the creation, John 1 tells us about Jesus, the eternal Word, and his story of new creation. The parallel continues in that just like Genesis 1 tells us about how God made humankind, John 1 tells us similarly but differently about God becoming a human being.
Then John continues his poem with a second theological declaration about Jesus. Jesus is the Divine Light. In John 1:4-5 (NIV) he wrote:
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In these first words of the Gospel of John, John continues his callback to Genesis when God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light! In this new creation, ushered in by Jesus the Word, Jesus has come to bring the fullness of God’s light. To whom? “To everyone.” Later in this same Gospel, John would record when Jesus would say of himself, “I am the light of the world!” (John 8:12, 9:5)
One of the things John says about the Divine Light is that he is in a cosmic battle. There is a fight between light and darkness. John writes in verse 5:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Greek word translated “overcome,” or “extinguish” in some translations, means to “seize with hostile intent.” Sin, Satan, and selfishness are agents of darkness who do all in their power to put the light of Jesus out, but John declares that Jesus’ light is so strong that it can never be extinguished. He can never fail. We see the ultimate defeat of darkness at the end of John’s Gospel when Jesus victoriously rises from the dead.
John the Apostle brought these lofty and grand theological declarations about Jesus the Divine Light into his letter we call 1 John. In 1 John 1:5 (NIV), he wrote:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
These words echo his Gospel declaration. But in contrast to his theological discourse in his biography of Jesus, in his letter, John becomes more practical fleshing out the implications of Jesus’ Divine Light for our apprenticeship to Jesus. Notice how in these five verses John writes about the Christian’s struggle against sin:
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:6-10 (NIV)
I notice these four practical implications for our union with Jesus the Light from these five verses. Each has to do with the real effects of sin in our walk with Jesus.
Living in the Light is about our lifestyle. Simply declaration of following Jesus the Divine Light is insufficient and incomplete. Life in the Light must be fleshed out in our ethical living.
Living in the Light is experienced in a fellowship of other blood-bought, redeemed Christ followers. The fellowship of the forgiven is the crucible of our apprenticeship with Jesus privately and corporately. John uses the plural “we” not the singular “me” in all these verses. We struggle with sin together in the Body of Christ.
Living in the Light requires a self-awareness of our struggle against sin. Our bent towards self-deception is high as broken, sinful people.
Living in the Light is a journey of ongoing confession and repentance that acknowledges the Christians fight with sin. Just like physical pain lets us know we are alive, our wrestling against sin teaches us we are still on the journey with Jesus.
These are some of the practical implications of following Jesus who is Light of the world. This is what it means to be a Light-bearer. Again, all five verses have to do with a Christ followers’ wrestling with his or her sin. Sin in our lives dims and sadly can even extinguish the light of Christ within us.
As the calendar turns from 2024 to 2025, this might not be a bad time for you to do a New Year’s spiritual inventory with these four practical implications from 1 John 1 as your guide. Think of it as a spiritual examen. Invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate and inspire you as consider these questions about sin in your life:
Do my attitudes and actions, my words and deeds reflect the lifestyle of Jesus? Do my habitual sins appropriately trouble me? Do I regularly sense the Holy Spirit’s conviction around my addictions, afflictions and compulsive behaviors that leads me to turn from them and turn to God? If not, why not?
Do I delight in being in a fellowship of forgiven followers of Jesus? Am I living in genuine Christian community beyond weekly worship attendance? Do I have a “band of brothers” or a “circle of sisters” with whom I can be honest, vulnerable and accountable about my wrestling with sin? Do I have anyone who “watches over me in love?” Is Galatians 6:1-2 (NIV) a practical reality of my life? “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” If not, why not?
Can I easily identify the areas of my whole life - my mind, my emotions, my will, my body, and my relationships - where I am struggling against sin? If not, why not? Have I become “tone deaf” to the merciful conviction and promptings of the Holy Spirit? Why?
As I end 2024 and reflect on my apprenticeship to Jesus, has the Holy Spirit within the gift of Christian community given me victory over sin in any area of my life this year? Do I delight in confessing my sin and repenting of my sin before God who is eager and loves to forgive? If not, why not?
Find a quiet comfortable place with 30-60 minutes of time. Get out a piece of paper, a journal or open a file on your computer. Take three deep breathes in and out. Invite the Holy Spirit to quicken and awaken you to God’s love for you. Slowly reflect on each question and jot down a thoughtful response to each question. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into one or two practical next steps as you consider you walk with God for 2025.
One final thought. Jesus not only said that he was the Light of the world, but in the Sermon on the Mount, he boldly declared that his followers were too. Gathered with his apprentices and a crowd of eager listeners, our Rabbi said:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
This is not lofty, philosophical idealism being touted by Jesus, but rather Gospel-possibility for the apprentice of Jesus who walks the narrow path of the Kingdom. Let 2025 be a year of your intentional pilgrimage with Jesus as you wrestle with sin and share the Light of Christ.
