FILO: Advent for the Church Technical ArtistMuestra

Today we are looking at a passage from 1 John, chapter 1, verses 4-7.

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Technical artists are well-acquainted with light and darkness.

We wake up early. Drive to work in the dark. Occasionally, we catch the first light of day as the sun rises.

We work in a dark room and illuminate it with beautiful light to create an atmosphere of worship.

We direct focus with light. If a singer stands in the dark, we move them into the light so that we can see them.

We even hang lights on our houses to celebrate the season and proclaim joy to the world!

Light always serves a purpose, but what does it mean for us, the FILO Community, to walk in the light? To understand that, we need to understand the darkness.

What is darkness?

Darkness is simply the absence of light.

If God is light, then darkness is the absence of God.

To walk in darkness is to live as if God does not exist.

You might think, “Oh, that’s not me. I work for a church; I’m good.”

Our presence in the church building does not equate to us walking in the light of God. If we’re not intentional, we can let the pressures of this season dim our light and allow sin to steer our behavior.

Gear fails.

Our pastor asks for a last-minute change.

A particular element doesn’t work as planned.

We’re unfriendly with volunteers because we’re too focused on the tasks.

We miss meaningful moments with our families because we’ve been working overtime.

Then we lose our tempers with our families when we finally see them.

If we aren’t careful, we can live as if God hasn’t done life-changing work for us and in us.

The first verse of our passage says, “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (1 John 1:4 ESV) John wrote this letter so that others would know Christ and have fellowship with the Father and his Son. He wrote so that others could share in his joy in Christ. As technical artists in the local church, we do what we do for that exact purpose. We run cables, build mixes, focus lights, and operate cameras to communicate the joy of the Gospel.

Amid the busy Christmas season, I pray we walk purposefully in the light.

Let us boldly invite others to share our joy and shine a light in the darkness with words of encouragement, grace, and love.

- Christina Pendleton