A Few Thoughts On Light

A few thoughts on light:
As recorded in John's Gospel, 8:12, Jesus proclaims one of His seven I am statements: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." I'm sure His followers were puzzled and confused at the words this Man was saying. He also proclaimed that He was the bread of life (6:35), the door (10:7, 9), the good shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, the truth, and the life (14:6), and the true vine (15:1-5).

Furthermore, in Matthew 5:14-15, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to His disciples. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." I can hear them now, murmuring among themselves, "What's He talking about? How can we be lights of the world? He's got to be kidding. We're only fisherman. That's all we know."

In Genesis 1:3, God said, "Let there be light;" and instantly there was light. It was the first thing God did after creating the heavens and the earth. "And God saw the light, that it was good." All through Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, light is referred to in many ways. In Psalm 27, David says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." In Psalm 119:105, we read, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." John the beloved in Chapter 1, verse 4 of his Gospel identifies Jesus: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John the Baptist confessed that, "He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light, that was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world." John 1:8-9.

In John's First epistle, 1:5, he says that "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." "If we walk in the light as He is in the light," John says in 1:7, "we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." On and on through Scripture the Bible speaks of light and how Jesus is that Light. In his description of the New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21:22, John says,"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." And in verse 23, "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light."

Back in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells His followers, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." I'm sure this statement also puzzled the little band of fishermen, as it has puzzled and amazed so many others for over 2,000 years. When Jesus rose from the grave and returned to His father in heaven, He sent another Comforter who would be with us and in us and would teach us all things. In a very real sense, we are the hands and feet and voices of Jesus in the world today; lights in the darkness. May we be good and faithful servants.