That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1John 1:1-5
It seems like anywhere you search into the writings of John, he has one theme - it is Christ, himself. Much like John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, John the Apostle draws all attention to the Savior and shouts "Behold the Lamb." Here, in the first few verses of John's epistle, John speaks about the Savior who he has come to know personally. He tells his readers that he has heard Christ, seen Christ, even touched Christ. It was this Christ that John desired for all to know. He says to His readers that this relationship with Christ is the bind that draws believers together, and is the key to a fully joyous life.
But this is the thing that stands out in my mind. As John describes the Lord Jesus Christ, and the unity and joy He brings, he sums up the message that was given to Him, and the message that he desires to share to bring all to the Savior in just a few words. He says in verse 5, "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. " This is total equivalent of the message of Christ.
I think we complicate things too much. John kept is simple. Our job is not presenting a new life to unbelievers, it is presenting Christ. It is not intriducing the world to a better way of life, it is indroducing them to the Savior. Our message, as Christian witnesses, is Christ Himself, our duty is to lift Him up infront of the world.
John desired for all his readers to come to know Christ, and in that effort, he tells them that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. It is not our responsibility to show people conviction for their sin; it is not our responsibility to show people how to pray; it is not our responsibility to sho people anything but Christ. When people grow to know Christ, they will naturally come to trust Him. When they find that He is light and that in Him is no darkness at all, they will flee from their sins in order to draw nigh unto Him. Let us just introduce people to the Lord.
Keep in mind that this is not just the effort of reaching the lost. Each of us can draw closer to Christ, and the more we understand about Him, the more we will find that He is light and in Him is no darkness. And the more we learn this, the more we will trust Christ with our lives, and the more we will flee from our besetting sins. Make every effort to know Christ. Make it the pursuit of your life. Read your Bible to grow in your love for the Lord.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all - the message from Heaven.
