Jesus Centered Bible – questions and answers category goes through the questions given throughout the New Testament of the Bible I use and I give my answers and thoughts. Always, feel free to comment your thoughts and your own answers to these questions!

The question

Jesus said that we typically love the darkness more than the light – what does that mean? 1 John 2:9-11.

The answer

If anyone claims “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

1 John 2:9-11

Darkness is where the sin is in our lives. Darkness is probably cool, comfortable, and where we tend to drift into. Darkness isn’t cool (as an adjective), though. It’s pretty lame, to be honest. What do you do in the darkness? You’re usually hiding, whether you in general or maybe your actual sin. Regardless, darkness hides us, from the world, not God. When you played hide and seek as a child (or maybe you still do, children at heart, I see you!), did you go out into the sunshine, in the middle of a field? No, but if you did I’ll pray for you. You went out to the darkness, maybe behind a tree, or if you’re inside, probably a closet or the bathroom/bathtub (which was my favorite! I don’t know why). Why did we go there? Because darkness hid us from those trying to seek us out.

Maybe to some, the darkness makes them feel safe, but from what? Isn’t it agreeable that to follow Jesus and to be comforted by our Creator would be a safer choice? I mean, sure, sometimes following Jesus puts us in the direct line of persecution or it’s just hard to do some days, but to be cared for, loved and provided for continuously by His kind of love, a love that we can’t even fathom… it’s our safe place.

When we try to go out on our own, which is common – I can do this all by myself, I don’t need anyone mentality – we’re in the darkness. We’re not believing in the huge, magnificent power of God who can move mountains. When we’re living with God, talking with Him and consulting His will for our lives, we are in the light and we are the light to the rest of the world. Regardless of where we are in our faith, if we call ourselves a Christian and we talk about God, but there’s no difference in how we live our lives compared to a nonbeliever, where are we? Who do we belong to? We’re walking in the dark.

Sometimes we’re in the dark for a while, and it’s okay to stumble, but whether we get back up and get back into the light with God or stay down, hidden, in the dark is where true faith comes in. Life is crazy, chaotic, and it beats us up sometimes because we’re human and we’re not God or Jesus. Faith is huge in combating the darkness. Light is more powerful than darkness ever will be.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:5

Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

Matthew 6:22-23

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

Psalms 139:11-12

Sometimes we think that we can hide our sin from God, more so when we have no idea of His power perhaps when we first believe. We think that well, it’s darkness, who can see in the darkness? God. God can see. Just like in Psalm 139. He created everything, wouldn’t it only make sense for Him to be able to see everything as well?

Maybe I didn’t answer this question very well, but I hope you got something out of this and you would feel free to comment anything extra or something I most likely missed!