Light and Dark

One of my favorite moments in the Harry Potter movies comes in the 5^th installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. At around the midpoint of the movie, Harry is deeply troubled and in need of consolation. He is continually having dark visions sent from the series’ villain and begins to wonder if this means he is turning bad while he tries to fight evil. Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black – the closest person Harry had to a father – gives Harry the needed reassurance. 

Sirius knew a thing or two about conflicting feelings. Everybody else in his family was dark, evil people, and because he chose a different path, Sirius was thrown out of his own family. Able to comfort Harry because of his own experiences and character, Sirius tells Harry this very quotable line: “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” He tells his godson that although he may have dark thoughts, since he is choosing good, Harry is a good person. 

As much as I love this scene and the heartfelt, bittersweet emotions it evokes, I can’t help but think about Sirius’ statement from a Biblical lens. While we typically think about ourselves in terms of “good” or “bad,” the Bible teaches that there aren’t good and bad people, only those who are dead in sin and those who are alive in Christ. So, we cannot be good people by choosing to do good. Instead, we are spiritually dead people who are brought back to life, reconciled to God, and made new because of Jesus and His perfection.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 1-2a, 4-5)

However, I believe there is another way we can examine this statement. Once we are made alive together with Christ, we still struggle with sin. Yes, we have a new nature, and our desire is not to disobey God, but the flesh is a stubborn and relentless pest. It won’t give up that easily, and when tempted, we will have to choose if we are going to indulge the flesh or follow the Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit guiding and convicting us as we walk in the light, and we have the flesh trying to trip us up and revisit some old darkness. 

Part of the good news of the gospel is that when we choose to act in darkness instead of light, if we are in Christ, our standing with Him remains firm. Yes, we need to turn from sin and ask for forgiveness, but our salvation is not dependent on being a good person ourselves. We truly do have light and darkness waging a daily war within ourselves, but who we are is not the part we choose the most. We are defined by the reality that we have chosen to trust in Jesus, and He will give us ultimate victory over darkness when His Kingdom of light is finally, eternally established. Until then, however, He walks with us and leads us to “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). 

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16-17)

Let us remember Sirius’ quote and enjoy this scene, but as we do so, may we remember that it is not up to us to choose good; we must simply trust in Jesus’ sinlessness and walk with Him, knowing that He is making us what we cannot be on our own.