Light of the World
By Kim Findlay
I don’t like the dark.
As a child, I slept with a nightlight illuminating my room just enough to see. Then, as a young teen, once the lights were out in the basement, I’d race as fast I could go up the stairs to get away from the darkness … and whatever lurked within. As an adult, I’ve come to equate darkness with death and disease, both of which it feels we’ve been bombarded with these days.
Yes, it always felt as if something sinister lurked within the darkness, but what if that darkness lurked within me? What if darkness wasn’t outside of me in death and disease, with anger and discord, but carried something deeper within?
Perhaps to better understand, we need to return to the beginning. In the beginning, the world was dark and formless, without any light. But there was a Creator whose name is God (Genesis 1).
God spoke into the darkness and created light. He made the heavens and the earth with a light to rule the day and a light to sparkle through the night. He made birds of the air, fish of the sea, and animals that roamed about.
God made people in His image. He created them and desired a relationship with them. But there was a problem —an enemy who wanted glory for itself, an enemy who wanted to destroy God and His people (John 10:10).
The enemy slithered its way toward Adam and Eve, whispering lies about God, creating doubt in their minds.
Did God really say you can’t eat from that tree?
Did God really say you’d become more like him?
Did God really say no?
With one decision, they chose to disobey God, and as they did, darkness settled in their hearts, separating them from God.
Throughout the Old Testament, we read story after story of people living in sin, embracing the darkness, and choosing selfishness over obedience.
Yet over and over, the Bible shares stories of God’s faithfulness and love, of the times He not only warned His people but how He rescued them from famine, from slavery, from themselves.
In Isaiah, we read that God promised a Messiah —the One who would come and rescue His people from the darkness once and for all (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Even so, the world became darker as people disobeyed, not caring about anything God had to say, not believing in His goodness.
Yet God persisted, promising hope that one day the people who did walk in darkness would see a great light (Isaiah 9:2). He continued to speak through people, warning them to turn from their wicked ways and return to Him. And the people continued in darkness until one day, God became silent.
For 400 years, they heard nothing.
Some waited while others wandered, and the darkness grew darker.
And then, one night, a baby’s cry pierced the darkness.
A baby who grew up to be a man, the promised Messiah. His life brought light —light that paved the way toward His Father. Light that brought life. Light that dispelled the darkness of sin, once and for all.
When we follow Jesus, when we believe that He is the way, the truth, and the life, sin loses its power as light fills our soul and reveals His likeness within us, His image-bearer.
It is when we believe in the light of the world that we walk in the promise of the long-ago prophet: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. (Isaiah 9:2)
For Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world, if you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. (John 8:12)”
Call to Action
Pray and Reflect:
John 8:12 “Jesus spoke to the crowd and said, ‘I am the light of the world, if you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
Proverbs 4:19, “But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.”
John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Reflections
Does knowing Jesus is the light of the world bring you hope today? If so, how?
What areas do you need to confess to Jesus, allowing Him to bring life?
Does knowing God kept His promise in sending Jesus as the light of the world change how you perceive Him? If so, how? If not, why not?
What is one step you can take to trust Jesus as you press forward in faith?
