DAILY REMINDER – Today, November 7’s Bible reading is John 7-8.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, November 8’s Bible reading is John 9-10.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
JOHN MOMENT – (07NOV19) “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” (John 1:4-5).
I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12)
[Jesus spoke to the people once more 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” (John 8:12)][1]
Moses
began writing the book of Genesis by telling the story of creation which
details the beginning of all things.[2]
God, having made the heavens and earth, knew that something else was needed for
His work to truly begin, so He said, “ ‘Let there be light,’ and there was
light.”[3] The darkness that once filled the earth received a cancellation
notice upon the utterance of those four words, “Let there be light!”[4] The light was needed not for God to see, but for His creation to be
able to flourish upon the land. God continued with His creation process and
everything that He made was deemed as being good; therefore, upon completion,
He rested from His work.[5]
God
has always been the Light and He gave His light unto a world that was night and
full of darkness. God used His great intellect and divine powers to create the
light for the daytime which is the sun and the light for the night which is the
moon and stars.[6] Just
as God created light for the day and night, God sent His son, Jesus, to come to
earth in the flesh to be the Great Light in a spiritually dark and wicked world.
Most people during His time could not identify Him as being the Light because
they were spiritually blind. The Jews had preconceived expectations for what
the Messiah would be and were unwilling to see God’s fulfillment of His promise.
Nevertheless, the Messiah was the Light
to shine in the darkness for all who would accept Him. David, the psalmist,
said, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light
for my path" (Psalm 119:105).[7]
The Word, who was from the beginning, was with God and was God made flesh to be
a guide for those who would follow Him to the path of eternal life. In order to
understand the Light, one must first realize what darkness is.
The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary partially defines darkness as being a devoid of
light; lacking knowledge; depressing circumstances and showing evil desires.[8] If
one was to redefine this description spiritually, it would be defined as a
spiritual state in which someone lacks knowledge and is in danger of perishing,
due to their inability to accept the Light of Knowledge, as described by the
Prophet Hosea.[9]
When Jesus came to earth as the Light, He was offering people the chance to
receive knowledge of God from Him so that they would no longer dwell in the
darkness. That darkness, being the works of evil that appeases the sinful
nature, includes such acts as: sexual immorality, murder, witchcraft, jealousy,
idolatry, selfishness and the lack of self-control – just to name a few.[10]
Many rejected His knowledge which was demonstrated through His teachings and
preferred to live in the darkness, while others allowed His light to permeate
on the inside of them by embracing what they learned.
Embracing
the Light meant making what had been made known to them applicable in their lives,
so that they could get out of the darkness and be a light unto others. One of
the many lessons that Jesus taught to show people how to get out of darkness
was His teaching on the Beatitudes. Jesus taught that His children would be
blessed if they were poor in spirit; comforted if they grieved; receive the
earth if they were meek; be made full if they hungered and thirsted for what
was right; be shown mercy if they were merciful; see God if found to be pure in
heart; be called the sons and daughters of God if they were peacemakers and
would receive the kingdom of heaven if they were persecuted for His name’s
sake.[11] Everything about darkness is contrary to the traits of this Light.
Jesus called His children the light of the world, for it was they whom the
world would see as a reflection of Himself after He was gone.[12]
Today,
many people are living in darkness because they are unable to see the Light due
to their rejecting Him, or not having been told of the Light. They tend to see
what they want to see and ignore the rest because they are stuck in their own
ideologies with resistance to change.[13] Jesus,
who is the Light of the world, gave His disciples the command to go and preach
the gospel into all the world for He is the Word.[14]
The whole world needs to know who the Light is, but the only way they can know
is by Jesus’ followers of today actively being a reflection of His light. The
Prophet Isaiah says that one day, there will be no need for the natural light
of the sun, moon and stars because the Lord will be the Everlasting Light who
will never grow dim, for He is the Son of God.[15]
Everyone who accepts the Light of the World will never have to search around in
the darkness, for He is the everlasting Word who came to light the path for all
who will obey. This is why it is important for Christians to let their lights
shine so that others may see the path that leads to eternal life.[16]
A. Overview
of Divine Qualities as the Light of the World.
a.) Oneness
with the Father
aa.) Jesus is the
Light of the World who came down from Heaven to rescue man from the darkness of
sin just as God separated the darkness from the light during the start of
creation.
b.) Incarnate
nature
bb.) Jesus being
the Light enables the believer to spiritually discern the things of God who
lightens the path for the world to come to Him.
c.) Transcendent
qualities
cc. Jesus is the
Light who transcends a world engulfed by the darkness of sin just as God spoke light
unto the earth that was once surrounded by darkness.
d.) Redemptive
works
dd.) Jesus gave
his life so that believers all around the world could show His light through
them, for the world does not know the Light until they see the lessor lights.
B.
Application of the Believer
a.) Believers have been shown the Light of Jesus, and as followers of
His, it is important for that light to shine
for the lost to see the blessed hope that come from the Light that
never grows dim.
[1] John 8:12 (New Living Translation).
[2] Martin Luther, Luther's Works: Volume 35
(Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 235-248
[3] Gen. 1:3 (New International Version).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Gen. 2:2 (New International Version).
[6] Gen. 1:14-19 (New International Version).
[7] Ps. 119:105 (New Living Translation).
[8] Merriam-Webster, "Definition of
DARKNESS," Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's Most-trusted Online
Dictionary, last modified 2018,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/darkness.
[9] Hosea 4:6 (New International Version).
[10] Gal. 5:19-21 (New International Version).
[11] Matt. 5:1-12 (New International Version).
[12] Matt. 5:14-16 (New International Version).
[13] McKinnon, "Contemporary
Church Problems," 32.
[14] Matt. 28:19-20 (New International Version).
[15] Isa. 60:19-21 (New International Version).
[16] Matt. 5:16 (New International Version).
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