Light

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:19-21

Light is God’s creation. “And God said , Let there be  light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3. Light is what moves darkness. Darkness cannot overcome the light, but is always overcome by light. Darkness is, in fact, the absence of light.

Light is the great revealer. It reveals things that cannot be seen without light. More light reveals more. Boeing builds airplanes that must be extremely safe, and as part of that work, it is necessary to inspect metallic parts and assemblies. For much of this, very strong lights are used to make sure even the tiniest flaw can be seen. As I painted inside my house, I had the lights on in the room I was painting, and it appeared that I was doing a great job of covering the walls. However, when I took a very bright work light and scanned the wall, it was very apparent that I was not covering as well as I thought.

God’s Word is a light that shines on our lives. When we look at ourselves under the “normal” light of the world (social norms, philosophies, current cultural expectations, etc) it appears that we are doing fine. However, when we allow the light of God’s Word to shine on our lives, we find we are lacking.

The first shine of God’s Light shows our need of a Savior. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 “For all have sinned , and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23. In that Light we also find the solution for this condition. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” John 12:46

God moves us from spiritual darkness to the true light. As God’s children who have seen the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ, we now have the privilege of walking in the light of God’s Word. “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” Ephesians 5:8. “Ye are  all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thess. 5:5. Our heritage is now light, not darkness. Where there is light, there is visibility of the path. We can see where we need to walk because of the light. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105.

As we walk with our Lord in deeper fellowship, we will be under a more intense light that will show even the smallest thing that He wants to remove from our life. If we are to be prepared to be the bride of Christ, there must be a complete work in our lives, and that requires the full inspection under the light of God’s Word. “That he might sanctify  and cleanse it  with the washing of water by the word,” Ephesians 5:26. You might be able to clean something without any light to see, but you will never know if it is clean or not without the light. The coming of our Lord is so near, and being prepared is so important. Do not miss even one opportunity to spend time in God’s Word. It is readily available today in so many forms, there is no excuse for not studying.

As we allow the light of our Lord to overtake our life, it will inevitably shine out to others that we come in contact with. We are to be lights to those around us. The light of this world will never show them what they need to see. Only the light of the life of Christ shining from our lives will do that. “That ye may be  blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” Philippians 2:15.

I want to encourage you as you read this to consider letting the light of God’s Word truly shine on your life today. Do not try to hide some parts of your life from the revealing nature of the light. It always brings good.

Gordon Crook