The Light of the World

The Light of the World

Genesis 22-24 | Psalm 8 | John 8

In today's reading of John, Jesus declares Himself to be 'the Light of the world', and promises that 'whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' This is the second time in this gospel that light has been so associated with life. In John 1 we read: "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world...He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him" (vv.4-5,9-10).

The 'darkness' can be understood in many ways. It can provoke a realisation of the true lack of direction of life without God. Those who do not love and serve God only live life focusing on the futile goals of this world and this life, 'fumbling around in the dark'. Out of ignorance (read 'darkness') they ignore the purpose and meaning of this life, which is to 'love the Lord our God and serve Him only.' In this way, 'darkness' is ignorance, and Jesus gives direction to those who believe in Him; He shows us God (v.19 cf. Col. 1:15) and leads us in loving and serving Him.

The darkness can also represent the evil of Satan which allows no escape from sin in an unbeliever's life. Just as Jesus said: "everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (v.34), living in darkness affords no escape from the dark. Jesus came into that darkness as a light: "In him was life, and that life was the light of men". From this perspective, 'darkness' is sin, and Jesus has given us freedom from our bondage to sin, by dying for us, taking the punishment for our sins and giving us His Spirit to strengthen us. (see also vv.31ff.)

If you can imagine it as such, we walk a path in our lives. Let us say that that path is God's direction to us, and it is typically marked by the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Moses, David, Peter, and James (and the others). It is a path that is illuminated by the light of God through His guide (the Holy Spirit) that we may follow it always. Those without Christ cannot see the path, because they do not have the light. Those with Christ can not only see it, but have been supplied with the Holy Spirit, who helps us to follow it. Sometimes we can't see where that path is taking us, and in such times we must remember our past travels and see that the path has not steered us wrong before, and trust that it will not in the future. Sometimes we will reach the crest of a hill on that lighted path and see where we are headed for a great distance in front of us; other times we will have trouble discerning an apparent fork in the road or a seeming dead-end, or perhaps a particularly steep mountain. As humans we will ignore the markings of the path occasionally - maybe frequently - but God is always ready to set us back on the path. He doesn't ask us to find our way back to the path, but includes our wanderings as part of it, often an important part.

Today's reading from Genesis records the actions of Abraham, and provides a prime example of walking the lighted path. Abraham did not flinch when God revealed to him that he should offer his son as a sacrifice. Although he believed that God would not allow him to go through with the sacrifice, he was nevertheless prepared to do so. It wasn't until he raised the knife to use on his son that God revealed a substitute sacrifice which was offered in the place of Isaac. God was testing to see whether Abraham would faithfully follow His lighted path, even when it appeared to be heading towards pain and suffering. As a result of Abraham's trust in God demonstrated here, he was blessed to become the father of God's chosen people (through Isaac), and that is why in our reading from John today, the Jews often referred to themselves as 'sons of Abraham'.

Jesus' promise, that 'whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness', also encourages us that He will always be with those who believe. He will never leave us destitute and in the dark. When we wander off the path, God through Jesus, continues His light shining to where we are so that we can continue on in the light.

In another account of the life of Jesus recorded in the Bible, Jesus also says to believers present: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16).

As followers of Christ, we become light to those around us. Like a beacon in the dark a believer makes it known to those around them that there is more than darkness. We may be a key-chain torch or a roaring bonfire, but once someone who has only ever known darkness sees light, they will either run from it or examine it. We are to help others out of the darkness into the Light of Jesus, so that they too can love and serve God. But how can we help others to find that path if we are not ourselves walking it? How bright would our beacon be if we had wandered far, and of what use is it to attract others to a path that we are ignoring ourselves?

How bright is your light shining? And to what are you attracting people with your beacon?

Praise God for His Light. Praise God for His path. Praise God for His help in following it. Pray and ask for continued help in following it, and pray that you may be ever aware that your walk influences others' ideas of the path and hence, the destination.