Darkness or light - time to choose?

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”. John 8:12

When our children were still quite small we went one holiday on a tour of a mine in Derbyshire. There were about twelve of us in the party, led by an official guide. Down there under the earth, it was a place of raw smells, echoey sounds and drippy water; not a place you would want to be for too long.

After taking us around, our guide asked if we would like him to briefly turn off the lights – “just so you know what total darkness is like”. Of course we all enthusiastically said Yes. And so we were plunged into a darkness you could almost feel. It wasn’t long before we were keen to have the light restored – you could understand how somebody said: if you were without light for any significant time you would very likely go mad.

We knew as never before that we need light! (On reflection it caused us also to share a thought for the blind…)

It’s no wonder that the Bible is full of the theme of light…

The first words God is recorded as having spoken at creation are “Let there be light…” (Genesis 1:3).

The people of Israel, set free from slavery in Egypt, were given by God “a pillar of fire to give them light” in the desert (Exodus 13:21).

The psalmist prays to God, “Let the light of your face shine upon us” (4:6), and rejoices that “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (27:1).

The prophet Isaiah reminds the people of Israel that the reason God called them to be his special people was to be “a light for the Gentiles” (42:6).

John introduces his Gospel by declaring that when Jesus, the living Word of God, was born into the world, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:4-5).

And now here, in chapter 8, Jesus brings it all together with this quite staggering, breath-taking claim: “I am the light of the world”. What a thing for anyone to say!

He was visiting Jerusalem at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, when the city would be crammed with pilgrims. As part of the Feast four great lights were lit in the temple precincts, and the whole city would be bathed in light. It’s surely no accident that Jesus chose this moment to utter these words.

The Christian faith declares that Jesus’ words are plain truth; that he is indeed the very light of God himself given to this dark and troubled world. Which prompts an obvious question: Has he yet become the light of your life?

Here are two simple but vital things to think about…

First, it is our privilege to enjoy this light.

Walking in darkness is a dangerous thing to do. It results in groping, stumbling and – ultimately - falling. And this is precisely the way our world is.

In spite of technical and intellectual brilliance, we flounder in the darkness of moral wickedness, ignorance, superstition and wrong ideas; as Jesus put it: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts - murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15;16). The Bible sums it up under the word “sin”, and it’s a wretched, miserable existence, in essence nothing but a living death.

But what matters is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus followed up his claim to be the light of the world with what amounts to an invitation, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.

“Whoever follows me…” Let me ask that obvious question I mentioned a moment ago: Have you yet become a follower of Jesus? If not, why not today? All it takes is a simple prayer from the heart, perhaps something like this:

Lord God, I realise that up to now I have been groping my way through life in darkness, living my own way and making a mess of things. I am truly sorry, and ask you now to draw me out of the darkness and into the light of Jesus, to forgive my sins, and to lead me into a new future. Amen.

That’s only a start, of course. But it amounts to a whole new birth; life will never be the same.

So that’s the first thing: it’s our privilege to enjoy the light.

But the second is also vital: it’s our responsibility to share the light.

Yes, Jesus claimed that he was himself the light of the world. But he also told his disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

By this he means, in essence: just as the moon has no light of itself, but simply reflects the light of the sun, so also we, though we have no light of our own, can and should reflect the light of Jesus. He tells his disciples to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5: 16).

This is a big subject: but what it boils down to is that our lives are to be so full of Christlike qualities – humility, compassion, honesty, courage, above all love – that people (amazing though this seems) actually look at us and see him.

What more satisfying life could there be than that!

Holy and powerful God, thank you that your light has been made known to us in Jesus Christ, your Son. Help me, minute by minute, to reflect that light so that, through even me, others will see you and come to worship you. Amen.