From the Prison of Darkness to the Freedom of Light: a Daily Choice
Sin is more than a misdeed; it is a fissure running through the heart of creation, a rift between God’s design and human freedom. On the very first pages of Scripture this fissure is heard when Adam and Eve hide: “And the man hid himself… among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). Fear of the light shows how sin darkens the inward gaze.
In the Hebrew Bible several terms add shades of meaning: one means “to miss the mark,” another “to warp,” a third “to rebel.” Sin can be a mistake, a twist in character, or an act of open defiance. The prophet Isaiah warns: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isa. 59:2). Sin divides not only humanity from the Creator but people from one another.
Scripture illustrates the point with concrete stories: Nadab and Abihu offer “unauthorized fire” (Lev. 10); Uzzah touches the ark without reverence (2 Sam. 6). Holiness will not tolerate carelessness. Yet those same pages shine with hope: the broken David cries out, “Have mercy upon me, O God… for I acknowledge my transgressions” (Ps. 51:1, 3). Repentance opens the door to mercy: “Blessed is the one to whom the Lord does not impute sin” (Ps. 32:2).
With the coming of the Messiah the meaning of sin cuts even deeper. The Gospel declares: “Of sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9). Unbelief robs a person of the source of life. That is why the Savior first says to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5), and only then—“Rise and walk.” Relationship is restored before behavior changes.
The apostle John states: “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Paul adds: “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). When the heart closes in distrust, even outward virtue loses the breath of life.
Where sin delivers death, the Gospel offers an exchange: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). On the cross the Messiah absorbs the consequences of rebellion to open the way of grace.
Freedom, however, does not lessen sin’s gravity. Peter recounts the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira: they “lied not to men but to God” (Acts 5). A lie within the church tries to smuggle darkness into a realm of light, and the light responds instantly. Thus the apostles plead: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30).
What remains for a person? Confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Confession is the willingness to expose the hidden self to Truth; cleansing is the breath of the Spirit that quickens the soul. One who has tasted that fresh current no longer sees sin as a forbidden fruit but hears instead the crunch of dry leaves where living water could have danced.
Sin is desynchronization from the loving Heart; righteousness is returning to its rhythm. Law, prophets, cross, and empty tomb bear one witness: “Will you choose life?” The answer is written not in ink but in every act of the human will. And each time a person chooses the light, the world becomes a little more whole.