1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
1 John 1:1-4
I have struggled with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Every year I find that by the end of the autumn my mental health has declined sharply and painfully. Feelings of sadness and hopelessness descend like a fog, I start listening to Darkwave and withdrawing from others. Everything becomes too much for me. Each year it has got worse than the one before. Until last year, feeling desperate to find a cure, I tried blue light glasses. These are not the ones that protect you from blue light but do the oposite, shining blue light directly into my eyes to try to trick my brain into thinking that it is daylight and recalibrate my internal clock. The result was nothing short of life changing. I felt alive. Energised. I almost skipped to work, it was amazing to feel the difference that they made. Astonishing.
Since then I have met dozens of guys who experience similar kinds of depression and I keep pointing them to the glasses. I have no idea if they will work for them as they have for me but I get this excitement inside knowing the experience of change that they will receive if they try them and they do.
This is exactly the same feeling as the author of this letter describes as he writes to us. He has seen Jesus and touched him with his own hands. His life has been changed and what was darkness is now filled with light. Now, he is excited for you to have an encounter with Jesus that will change your life forever. Love has changed his life. He invites you to encounter Jesus as he has and be transformed by his love.
Reflect
- Have you ever had something that changed your life and could not stop sharing it with others?
- Have you ever had an encounter with Jesus what was like this?
Respond
I believe that Jesus wants to meet with you today. Find a quiet place, breathe, and allow God to come and speak to you. Do not interrupt, just allow Him the time and space to share what he wants to with you. If you find yourself distracted, a good tip is to imagine Jesus sitting with you in as much detail as possible.
