Jesus Showed His Disciples How to Let the Light of Love Shine

What Did Jesus Do?

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light…
1 John 2.10

If we were spelunkers (That’s a fancy word for folks who like to crawl about in caves), and delved deep enough into places that know nothing but perpetual darkness, we might come upon some curious creatures that have eyes, but do not see because they have not been exposed to any light whatsoever. The optic apparatus in these cave-dwellers is in fact so atrophied that even if they were to come into the light, they would be totally blind. There are some of these sightless creatures that have been in the darkness for so many generations that they have no eyes at all any longer, but only vestigial eye sockets.

But, it doesn’t take generations of being in darkness for our eyes to grow weak, even incapable of seeing. We all know how, after even a modest of time in darkness, coming into light can be so blinding that we literally stumble about for a few moments. And, when we are talking about our spiritual “vision,” even walking for a short time in darkness, deceit, and enmity begins to deteriorate our ability to see the light, to know the truth, and to live in love. The truth is, sightless troglodytes notwithstanding, that most every living thing on earth needs light in order to live. Yet, in this world darkness seems to always be striving against the light. That’s why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine.

God is light (1 John 1:5), it is his very nature. God is love (1 John 4:8), love too is his very nature. In God light and love, though not equivalent, are inseparable. There can be no expression or manifestation of God without the presence and power of his light and his love. Thus, God’s Law is an expression of both his light and love. The highest and most complete expression of God’s light and love is in the person of Jesus; in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the light and the love of the Father are completely and perfectly revealed. Any and all who come to Christ come out of darkness into light, and from hatred to love. It was one of the Lord’s goals during his earthly sojourn to show his disciples how to let the light of the Father’s love shine in them and from them, so that the true light of God shines in the love of Christians.

John noted in his day, and, sadly, we may still note, that there are many, too many, who say that they are in the light (Have a personal relationship with Jesus), while evidencing not love, but actual hate, towards fellow believers. What is their true state? They are in darkness (1 John 2:9), quite as lost as if they had never even heard the name of Jesus. The tragic fate of such as these is that they eventually become as those cave-dwelling creatures—they have eyes, yet are blind to light, to love, to truth. (1 John 2:11)

Yes, we can say we stand in the light of Jesus, but if we don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in darkness, as good as blind. Even as the light and love of God’s nature are inseparable, so too are they inseparable in the believer. And it is every believer’s calling to let the light of the love of Jesus shine. The Lord himself said that the only way the world can come out of darkness, and see the light of God’s truth in disciples, is by the love we exhibit towards one another. (John 13:35) We know neither the light or the love of the Father apart from the Son, which is why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine in the world by loving one another.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4