All of a sudden he stood in total darkness. He could not see his hands before his eyes. It was cold around him, and he heard some faint, strange sounds. All he wanted to do was go home, go back to the bright kitchen of his parents or sit by the fire in the living room. Or at least, AT LEAST just squat down here, make himself small, hope not to be detected and wait for the light. But he had no choice. He had to walk through the darkness. The sergeant had made it very clear: Every soldier walks through this night forest for 1000 meters. Alone. No lights allowed. 1000 meters. Doesn’t sound so far. But it is when you’re alone in the darkness. By now his eyes had forgotten the bright glares of the Army edition flashlights and got used to the darkness. At least he could see SOMETHING. Some schemes and shadows. Some trees. And behind those trees… Being able to see A LITTLE BIT actually made it worse. He started to walk. Slowly, on his guard. Looking left and right, his machine gun ready. An Uzi, made in Israel. Was there someone standing in his path, right ahead? Aiming a gun at him? About to SHOOT at him? His heart beats wildly in his chest. He cannot be sure.

Oh no, it’s just a shadow from the big tree on the right. He relaxes a bit, lowers his weapon, takes a deep breath. He should not let this darkness get to him. He walked the same path this afternoon and it was fine. Mustn’t let his imagination run wild. All of a sudden, at that very moment, two soldiers jump out of their hiding place, right in front of him. Bang, bang. You’re dead.

1 John 1

 The Word of Life

 1 That which was from the beginning, which 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. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 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. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

 Walking in the light

 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

 7 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.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

This is the first message in a little series in 1 John. I chose 1 John because it is a very short book… no, really because it is a very positive, empowering book, full of joy and love, written to an emerging church just like ours. And also because in 1 John there is my favourite quote in the whole Bible: 1 John 4,8. (Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.) It’s about a journey – the journey we are on in our faith in Jesus, and about His love. That’s why I call the whole series:

GET ON THE LOVE BUS.

I believe we are all on a journey in our spiritual lives. You may be a seeker, not yet fully committed to Christ – you’re on a spiritual journey. You may be a skeptic or atheist or just not sure – you’re on a spiritual journey. Most of us are followers of Jesus, who aim to live our lives according to His plan for us and His commandments – we’re on a spiritual journey.

But on this trip and most other trips we take, unfortunately we seem to follow Christopher Columbus. Columbus set out for the Orient in 1492 and ended up in the Caribbean. Some people say that he set a pattern that men have been following for 500 years: Never ask for directions.

Think about it – if life is a spiritual journey, most of us, men and women, act like we don’t need to ask for directions. We have it all figured out. But we need guidance because we tend to lose our way, we tend to stray from the path – which can have dire consequences. We need to ask: “What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does it mean to be a faithful Christian?” John has some answers for us.

So as we start our journey, maybe we should first check the equipment. We have the Love Bus – but is it in working order? Do the lights work to shine our path through the darkness? Does the engine work to get us moving? Do the breaks work to stop when we go the wrong way? And, most importantly, do we have the right roadmap for your spiritual journey? No point in following a citymap of Jakarta when you’re in Singapore. For this journey, it’s not pyramids or psychic friends or horoscopes or science or dogma which can lead our way. It’s the Bible that gives the direction we need – today, 1 John.

The letters of 1 John were probably written by the apostle John, the only one of the original apostles not yet murdered by the Roman government. But they did incarcerate him, on the island of Patmos.

So he writes a letter to the young Christian churches in Asia Minor which today is Turkey. He has an important message for them, some guidance to get them back on track in their lives with the risen Jesus.

But why should they believe him, why should they follow his advice?

So the first thing John has to do, is to establish his authority. And of course, like most of us, we borrow our authority from someone else. If I need one of our local office heads to do something they don’t want to so, I copy my boss, the chairman of Asia. This sends the message: It’s not just me asking for this, I am also acting in his name.

Same for John. He claims the highest authority there is, the one of Jesus. So his authority comes from his role as a WITNESS. “I was there,” he says: “I have seen him, heard him – my hands have touched the risen Christ. What I will tell you MUST be true because I experienced it myself, first hand. I heard the words from Jesus’ own mouth. Believe me.”

Sometimes during my basic training in the German Army we were sent on patrols through pitch dark forests and fields. In order to improve our alertness, our reactions, to overcome our fear of the dark. These were pretty scary experiences, especially since you had to expect someone may leap on you any minute.

We all hated the dark and were happy and relieved to be back in the light from the flashlights and torches, in the company of our comrades.

Nobody likes the darkness. Or let me rephrase that: Only bad people like the darkness – under the cover of darkness thieves can steal, burglers can empty your house, muggers can rob you. Most rapes and assaults and murders happen in the dark. So John uses this very relevant symbol to say:

God is light. There is no darkness in him at all.

And he says: It‘s simple, really. We have a choice. We can walk in (which means: live in) – we can live in darkness or we can live in the light. In this case, there is no grey, no twilight, no in-between. Darkness or light. You decide.

Let me help you make up your mind:

Living in darkness – can be very seductive. Because the good news is: No rules. And you can have everything: Sex – never mind what the other guy or girl is looking for, you can just go and fulfill your sexual desires, then drop them for the next, better body. Success – use people at work, kick ass, lie and cheat to your own advantage, take credit for their ideas, walk all over them, and you will go far, fast. Bosses like ruthless employees who get the job done. You will be promoted.

Money – success will bring you money. And if you invest it well, never give any away to friends or charities but rather spend it on yourself or try and grow it, you can and will be rich. Happiness – you use your money to buy happiness; you can buy more and younger and more buff bodies, trips to exotic locations, toys that make you happy.

Sounds good? It does to most people on this planet – that’s why they are living in darkness. Then, they die. The End.

Living in the light – Let me start with the bad news: There are rules. Not that many, actually, but they are pretty invasive – once you follow them, they pretty much invade everything you do, every part of your life: How you choose your partners and how you treat them – with love and respect. Wow, even your enemies have to be loved – which means you cannot take advantage and walk all over them; they may actually win a few battles. At work, you can and should work hard, but be nice – give credit to others, delegate, motivate. You may not be promoted as fast as they elbow-guy, if your boss is like most bosses. Money – well, you can earn it and enjoy the fruits of your labour, but you have to share: With those that have nothing, with your fellow living-in-the-light colleagues, with anyone in need. And as for happiness: Well, it depends on what you are looking for. If material goods and bodies and trips are not enough to make you happy, if you look deeper, want more – this is the place to be.

You will not be alone in this choice – you will have fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and with each other. This will make your joy complete. And then - you die. And then – you live. You will have everlasting life.

So these are your two choices. And since this is Asia, I am sure some of you will want to barter. Take light and little bit darkness, can? Cannot, I’m afraid – according to John. Actually, that’s why he wrote this letter: Some churches in Turkey had had the same idea. They split up into different directions and followed different teachings: The Book of Thomas. The Book of Mary Magdalene. Directions that later became known as Gnosticism which is similar to what we know today as the New Age movement. Read Dan Brown’s bestseller ‘The Da Vinci Code’ if you want a glimpse of all the teachings and theories that were (and are) floating around. They wanted to mix their allegiance – follow the light but allow for a little bit of sin, a little bit of fun, of darkness. That’s alright, right. No, it’s not.

In the picture John uses, light and darkness are totally incompatible. It’s one or the other. Because what he is talking about are FUNDAMENTAL DECISIONS. He is not talking about the Light or Darkness within us. We can never BE the light – only God is the Light. We can never be perfect. But we can WALK IN THE LIGHT – which mean we can LIVE by the Truth, do the will of God, do what is right and what pleases Him.

And Darkness does not mean ‘dwelling in sin’. Darkness is the realm that opposes God and is hostile to God. That’s why John asks the churches in Asia Minor – and us – not to ‘live in darkness’. He wants us to make the right fundamental decision. He does not say “Let there be no darkness in you” as in, “True Christians are without a trace of sin.” He knows that is not possible. Only God IS the Light – in Him there is no darkness at all. (Verse 5)

OK, so let’s say we have made the right decision. We have chosen to live in the Light, to follow Jesus and live a life according to God’s will. And then, we fail. We do something REALLY bad, something DEFINITELY SINFUL. Something we would have done had we walked on the OTHER side.

So how? Do we give up and rethink our original decision? No, we don’t. Jesus realizes that we are not perfect. We’re human, and bound to fail, bound to make mistakes, bound to sin. So what do we do: We confess.

Confessing our sins, admitting where we have gone wrong, is a very powerful thing to do. It means we realize the difference between good and evil. It means we do accept there are rules. It means we acknowledge that we are not perfect and that we have made a mistake. It shows God that we’re serious about walking in the Light. Serious enough to realize when we have gone wrong and to ask for forgiveness.

So we acknowledge our sins and ask God for forgiveness. And we are not alone doing this: We have Jesus on our side, speaking to the Father on our behalf, asking for forgiveness in His name.

But actually, this is his easiest job – because God does not need much persuasion. He has promised us before that when we fall, it’s ok: We realize where we went wrong and come to him for forgiveness. As John says: 9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

So have you made the right decision? Are you walking in the light or in darkness? You can renew your decision right now. Or have you stumbled from the path you chose? Have you done things you know in your heart are wrong? You can ask for forgiveness now and you will be purified. You will walk in the light and reflect and shine the light for others to see.

Let us pray:

Lord, we WANT to walk with you. We WANT to live in the light. But we are often tempted by the other side. Their offers are so much more of this world, so much more immediate. Lord, please open our eyes to what you are offering. To the fact that your love gives us joy and fulfillment and happiness a hundred times more. And Lord, you realize that in our walk with you, we stray. We fail. We fall. But you are giving us your hand, you are reaching out to us to help us up. We want to acknowledge in our hearts the many times we have sinned this last week, Jesus. We want to confess and seriously, honestly promise you: We will change. We will try harder. We will be encouraged by your forgiveness of our sins and go into the next week purified. Clean. Ready for a fresh start with you, Jesus. Amen.