As a child, I always hated walking down the long stairway to the cavernous basement of our house.

Each step brought me farther from the light and deeper into darkness. With no light in the stairwell, I had to descend the entire flight and walk into the pitch-black room before finally reaching the switch. Possessing an overactive imagination, I never grew accustomed to the journey.

We were not made for the darkness. In John 12:46, Jesus explained that He came as the Light to expose the sin in our lives. When we buy into the enemy’s lies, we futilely try to live in the light while harboring dark places.

Perhaps we’re afraid people would reject us if they knew the truth, or maybe we’re afraid we can’t make it without our secrets. We may have lived so long in the dark that we don’t know what light looks like anymore. Regardless of the reason, living in darkness isn’t real life.

God isn’t interested in embarrassing us, but neither can He tolerate hidden sin (Luke 12:2-3). His great love for us insists on truth, and truth requires light (John 3:21). While we know darkness and light cannot occupy the same place, there’s a big difference between a flashlight and a stadium light. To be free in Him is to be unhindered by anything.

Because transformation is a process, we continually see things in ourselves we didn’t see before (2 Cor. 4:16). We will walk in the light or in darkness depending on what we do with the hidden areas in our lives. Do we pretend they aren’t there? Try to keep them covered? Or do we drag them into the light, no matter how hard that is, in order for His light to expose what’s wrong and make it right?