This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
One night in Turkey, a group of friends went camping. They hiked into a forest, set up camp, and eventually gathered around a campfire. The night was filled with drinking, storytelling, and more drinking until almost everyone had either turned in or passed out.
In the middle of the night, one man named Mutlu wandered away from the campsite deep into the woods, where he eventually laid down and fell asleep. When he failed to return, his wife and friends alerted local authorities, and the next morning a search party was sent out.
Mutlu woke up when hearing the voices of people combing through the forest. He stumbled out to see what they were doing, and they said, “We’ve joined a search party looking for a lost man.” Feeling benevolent, Mutlu said he’d help them. After walking for a few moments, one of the party members called out, “Mutlu,” to which he stopped and said, “Yes?”
How drunk do you have to be to join your own search party?
The truth is sometimes we don’t know how lost we are until someone comes to look for us.
Even though John is near retirement age, he shows no signs of slowing down. He is writing letters to be circulated amongst the churches he’s either visited or helped start. We believe at this point he has settled in around Ephesus. He has composed his biography on Jesus, and now he’s sending letters to churches to help them follow Jesus.
When John writes about his friend, he uses terms like light, life and truth. He wants us to know how lost we were and that Jesus came to find us.
“That which was from the beginning, we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1
There’s the word again, the Word. John tells us about this in his gospel. Jesus is the Word made flesh.
“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” 1 John 1:2
Another word for Jesus, life. And this life has come looking for us.
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3
He showed up. He found us. And now, for everyone still lost… we are bringing you the light.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
Chantel was lost and didn’t know it. She was interested in spirituality, but not necessarily Jesus, He seemed like one of the many options. One day a man entered her place of business and told her he was a medium. He was able to see into the spirit world, and there was a man who wanted to get a message to her. She was led to believe that this was her grandfather. So impressed by this, she began to ask more questions and even recommended others meet with him.
What she didn’t realize was how this gave the enemy a footing in her life. She began experiencing panic attacks, health concerns and insatiable darkness. She tried to confront with more crystals, chants, and advice from the medium, but it led to more darkness until she met a Christian.
Debbie told her about Jesus and how to shut these other voices out in her life. The search party called her name.
John says, let me tell you about my friend. He’s the kind of friend who goes looking for you even when you don’t know you’re lost. He brings light to your darkness. He brings truth to your confusion. He brings clarity to your life’s direction. He brings healing to your past. And he won’t make fun of you if you don’t know you are lost, even if you join your own search party.
Today’s prayer:
“Jesus, I now see all things by your light. Even myself.”