1 John 1:5: This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
We sin because of unbelief, and unbelief is distrust. Adam sinned when he became convinced that God was withholding the fruit of the tree because God was selfishly protective of his rights. Adam sinned because he distrusted God.
Every sin is Adamic at its root. We disobey because we don’t believe God’s commandments are good for us. We grumble because we don’t believe God has orchestrated our lives for our good. We sin because we believe that God’s intentions are inscrutable and murky, because we think there is darkness in God.
The message of the gospel is, God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. God has shown that He is light by sending His Son. There is no hidden agenda. Jesus is God’s Yes to humanity, proof that there is no God but the God who is God for us.
Every week at this table He reminds us again that he is Light without darkness. Here He feeds us Light made flesh, Light made bread and wine, so that we might be Light in the world. Believe the message from God, and eat and drink.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…