Life and Light in the New Year
Life and Light in the New Year
In John 1:1–18, John wants us to understand that the world was without true order until God intervened. From the very beginning, Christ was present—He was not created, but eternally with God. Jesus is the Word made flesh, entering a dark and broken world as its true Light.
As we begin a new year, this passage invites us to make a meaningful resolution: to include God more intentionally in our daily lives. One practical way to do this may be committing to reading the Bible in a year, allowing God’s Word to shape our hearts and actions consistently.
Christ is the Light, and we are called to be reflections of that Light. We are not the source, but we are meant to reflect God’s presence, truth, and love to the world around us. John reminds us that “his own people did not receive him,” something we still see today. Many may acknowledge Christ, yet not truly believe or live according to His ways.
However, to those who do receive Him, Christ gives “the right to become children of God.” This is a life-changing truth. Yet we must ask ourselves: do we live as God’s children only on Sunday, or also on Monday? Too often, we return to our daily lives carrying resentment, bitterness, or unforgiveness.
Our resolution, then, should be to reflect God’s light more faithfully—by extending forgiveness, showing love, and walking in grace. As John tells us, “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.” Christ’s grace is abundant, ongoing, and meant to flow through us to others.
This calling is reinforced in The First Letter of Joh John 1:5-8:
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
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 and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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[b] 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 is not in us.
