Read: 1 John 1:5-7

If there is one area of consistency in my life, it is this:  I do not look forward to the time of year when the days get shorter.  The kindest word to describe my attitude would be grumpy.

Light is a wonderful gift from God, so at this time of year when the darkness lingers on in the mornings, and seems to close in on us in the evenings, I can’t help feeling sad over the loss of each minute of daylight.

Autumn is a season of mixed weather as well.  It really is a beautiful time of the year, especially when the sun is shining brightly on the changing colors of the leaves. However, there are a lot of dark and damp days, too, and sometimes days with the dreaded snow showers that say winter is really on the way.

So the fall of the year is a good time to ponder this lesson from 1 John 1:5-7:  “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by 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.”

There is an important lesson for us to learn here.   In our spiritual lives, it’s when we get out of step with the Lord that our gloomy days occur.  On the other hand, when we walk in the light of our Lord, we feel upbeat and able to cope with our daily challenges, whatever they may be.  The best of all news is that even in our darkest and stormiest times, we can come to God at anytime and start over.

God welcomes those moments of reconciliation because he wants us to represent him well, to shine His light into the world.  And it is still true that when the Son comes out the darkness disappears. Why?  Because he is the light of the world, of course!