Jesus Supplied The Light Of Life

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus Supplied The Light Of Life

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.”

                                                                        John 8:12

There are many ways the world may be separated into two groups.  The wise or the foolish.  The rich or the poor.  The strong or the weak.  The good or the, …wait a minute!  There are no good (Mark 10:18).  Well, you get the idea.  Today, if I may, I would like to argue that there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who see and those who are blind; those who have the light of life and those who are in utter darkness.  Jesus is THE Light.  And those in darkness, those without Jesus, will surely perish.  Without vision, without seeing, without light there is no life, only the certainty of death.

I don’t think I will ever forget the time I was plunged into stygian darkness.  It was about 36 years ago on a tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.  After warning us that the light was about to be extinguished, and reassuring us that it would only be for a few moments, the National Park Ranger transferred us all back in time, if you will, to eternity past, to what it was like before God said, “Let their be light!”  We were awash in darkness.  It was as if we were suspended in the midst of the void of Genesis 1:2.  Only the pounding of my heart assured me I was still alive.  Thankfully, the Ranger was as good as his word, and light quickly flooded the cavern and we were able to make our way to the exit.  The world, without Jesus, well it would be kind of like being in Mammoth Cave with no light and no exit.  Just darkness, and inevitable death.

And Jesus was quite clear about it, there is either life and light in and through him, or its Mammoth Cave now and forever.  It’s kind of funny, in a tragic way, how those who are blind (I am speaking of spiritual blindness, not physical), who have never known anything but darkness, believe they see (John 9:40-41); there is but woe for those who call darkness light (Isaiah 5:20).

We are not talking shade here.  No degrees of grayness.  There is light and life, or there is utter darkness, complete blindness, death.  This does not sit well with the majority of the world, which has always been caught up in the celebration of darkness as light, evil as good, bitter as sweet.  Proclaim the light and you’ll find no few hands eager and willing to cast you out (John 9:34).  And the truth is, it is painful to be pulled suddenly from darkness into light.  Yet, the pain is but momentary, light and life are eternal.

The challenge faced by the Church, by every member of the Body of Christ, is not to add to the sting, the offense if you will, of the light, but to let the light of Jesus alone shine forth.  Christ, his light and his life, must increase and we must decrease.  The good news is, even a little light shatters the darkness, while no amount of darkness can ever overcome the Light.  This is why we can sing with great confidence and hope, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”   Jesus has supplied us with light and life, and has charged all who follow him to be, in turn, the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).  It turns out that the temple of God, that would be us, fellow believers (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) is a lighthouse.  There is no other hope for those who are blind and in darkness.  Shine!

 

Jim

Marion, NC

PS 37.4