This post was last updated on May 24, 2026

Day 50 (Year 2)

Do You Love the Light, or the Darkness?  

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20 NKJV)

In the Old Testament, some people hated God’s prophets or His messengers. In the New Testament, some did not welcome Jesus and His servants. Similarly, when God’s light shines into human hearts, some do not love the light but instead love the darkness. Without ever encountering God’s light, it is difficult for a person to choose to reject it consciously. Only those who have seen or experienced His light can choose not to love it. As a result, they are judged by God—a judgment they bring upon themselves.

Some people encounter God’s light yet resist it, but choose darkness instead. They love to do evil and fear being exposed. The Proverbs also says that those who hate correction are like brute beasts (Proverbs 12:1b). Doing wrong is part of most people’s experience, but many feel regret and self-reproach afterward. Today’s scripture refers to those who deliberately and even gladly persist in doing evil. They dislike interference in their evil deeds, whether from others or from God, and thus hate rebuke. One key way for us to expose darkness is to humbly accept correction, learn from it, and change ourselves accordingly. This may require first overcoming negative emotions that arise when facing criticism, calming ourselves, and then carefully examining what needs improvement, accepting rebukes with humility.

Others do not completely hate the light, because they are attracted to its appearance and power. They use the light to cover their darkness, distort its energy to serve their own schemes, and even pretend to possess God’s light while practicing deception or even sorcery. Relying on corrupt cleverness, they counterfeit divine illumination and lure those walking in the Lord’s path into deeper darkness. This reflects the mixed condition of light and darkness mentioned earlier, and explains why hypocritical people can still gain support from others. In contrast, believers must deal with any resistance to correction and submit to God’s rebukes. After receiving the truth of His light, we must not only separate light from darkness but also hunger more for His light. We need to seek out people and situations that strengthen God’s illumination in our lives and stand firmly in His pure light, relying on Him to correct our wrongdoings and gradually fill us with His radiance.

Reflection questions:  

1) What principles can help believers joyfully accept constructive correction and grow through it?  

2) Have you overcome the negative emotions that arise from being corrected? If not, what practical steps can you take to improve?