‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12
Jesus called Himself many things, he said he was the bread of life (John 6:35), the way, the truth and the life (John 14:16) and the resurrection (John 11:25) and the Gate (John 10:7).
Among these instances, the one that strikes a chord with our teaching today is “Jesus, the light of the world”.
What does Jesus mean when He referred to Himself as the light of the world? Definitely it means the world is in darkness for Him to have referred to Himself as the Light of the world.
Now, note that He did not say “ I am a light of the world but He said “ I am The light of the world. Now Jesus is also referred as the Word of God so it is expected that when He speaks He does not speak carelessly but clearly.
When a person uses “a” in a speech it is without specification and could mean any article but when The is used it becomes definite and non speculative.
For example if a person discusses “the chair” with their friend, they both know the chair to which they refer. It can only be One chair.
John the Baptist referred to himself as a voice in the wilderness and not the voice recognizing that Jesus was The Word of God and The light of the world.
When Jesus therefore referred to Himself as the Light He was clearly communicating to His listeners who He was and of course His purpose in the world. He is the express image of God and the brightness of His glory. (Hebrews 1:3).
He is light because like God Jesus is sinless and therefore was the epitome of God’s perfect creation, full of righteousness, the Life of God and Holiness.
He came as a version of the wholeness and fullness of man which Adam lost to the devil in the garden of Eden.
He came as Light to redeem and restore the lost glory of man from sin, wickedness and from all unrighteous deed.
He was therefore right when he said He is the light and also calling those who will believe in Him to walk in the light and away from the darkness of unbridled lust, material life, self seeking ambitions, hatred, and all sort of evil that presently covers the world like a dark veil.
The challenge to all who follow Christ is to be a light in the world, as they daily walk in the footprint of the eternal Light of Jesus. (Matthew 5:13).
When a Christian therefore walks in the light he can never live by the world’s standards and expectations because his own standard comes from the One whose values sharply contrasts with the values of this world- one is spiritual, heavenly and eternal while the other is material, earthly and temporal.
Now the light we have from Jesus is not for private guidance alone but to serve as a public good as we reflect the eternal light of the Lord in a dark and fallen world, showing men the way to Jesus.
That’s why it is dangerous for a Christian to live by the values of the world because you can’t change what you are daily part of.
We are called to be reformers in all sphere of life and to transform a darkened life we must consistently live above its standards.
The world lives by deception, lies, greedy gains , pleasure, corruption, immorality, self centeredness, and corrupt entertainment.
If we live by these standards we would have succeeded in hiding our lives, living without transformative value, letting sin and the corrupting influence of the world deem our light.
We are to be like a city sitting on top of a hill emitting light for the dark world to see and we can only achieve this if we don’t allow the dark influence of the world to shut down our light.
But we can only achieve this greatness if we walk daily in the light of the Messiah, The source of our light.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:4). Jesus is the Light of the world, and all who refuse to walk in his Light are separated from him because they live in darkness of sin and spiritual ignorance.
Just as there was separation of light from darkness at the beginning of creation, this principle of separation of light from darkness will also be at work at the closure of this age-the end of this world as we know it when those who walk in darkness will be eternally separated from God.
Second Thessalonians 1:8–9 says, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”
But the good news is that you have an opportunity to repent from all dark works and make a decision to turn into the Light of Jesus today.
Don’t live it till tomorrow!
Reading: Matthew 5:13:30
