Thursday, January 24, 2008
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
In the movies, vampires and other monster types come out at night. Creepy, crawly, creatures on the cinema screen thrive in the murky shadows. They hate the light and love the darkness.
Ever since the Fall, man has been in love with the darkness of his own sin and unbelief. Man loves his false teachings, his self-righteous pride, his lies, his lust, his greed. He loves a life in which he keeps God at arms length. But if a person remains in the darkness, he will one day be cast into outer darkness where there is never ending weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus says: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
You, dear believer, are walking in the Light by a miracle of God's grace. The first miracle ever recorded in the Bible was when God said, "Let there be light, and there was light!" But even more amazing is when God's saving light penetrates into the dark recesses of the human soul. When the Spirit and Word bring Christ the Light to a sinner, causing him to honestly confess his sin, to turn his back on his own efforts to save himself, to trust alone in Jesus' blood and righteousness for salvation, to walk away from the worthless philosophies of the world, to be empowered to say "no" to ungodliness and "yes" to godliness, that is a miracle of unmatched beauty and magnitude.
In this world we are surrounded by darkness. Monster Satan constantly bombards us with what are supposedly better offers than what God has freely given us. Everyday our own sinful flesh tries to pull us away from the sunshine of God's love. Lord, keep us in the Light! Oh, Jesus, shine into every corner of our hearts and lives! For you, indeed, are the Light of the world!
Beautiful Savior, King of Creation,
Son of God, and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love Thee, Truly I'd serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 657:1)
