The Light of the World

"Nations will come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising."
                                                                                                           Isaiah 60:3




As we enter this Advent season, it seems that the contrasts around us grow more and more stark.  The good in the world appears to be more assertive and bold, while the evil continues to intensify in word and deed.  This scenario is eerily reminiscent of the day and time that surrounded the first coming of Jesus, our King.

As the world we live in grows darker, the issues that surround us grow increasingly complex.  The problems are not simple, and neither are their solutions.  Even as leaders of nations collaborate together, there are still problems and complexities beyond their grasp to solve.  It is by God's design that this is our current  world's reality.

In the Old Testament, in the book of Malachi, the last prophecies of God are uttered, followed by a four hundred year silence.  These years were devoid of any messages from God until Zachariah (father of John the Baptist) broke the silence by prophesying the birth of Jesus into a similarly dark world.  He said, "Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit us to shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79).

When times were incredibly daunting and dark, God chose to send the Light of the world to bring illumination.  Later, in Jesus' ministry, He reiterated this point.  He said, "I am the Light of the world.  He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life" (John 8:12).

In the Bible, Light is a description for God and His glory and darkness is a metaphor for spiritual blindness.  We are taught that it is even possible to have seen the Light and still live our lives as blind men.  The book of Romans tells us that even though "they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor or glorify Him as God or give Him thanks.  But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened" (Romans 1:21).

Whether or not we walk in darkness depends upon what we love.  If we love the Light, we will see ourselves as we truly are- sinners in need of a Savior.  While the truth may at times be difficult to swallow, it is worth the reward of knowing Jesus.  His love more than compensates for every hard truth we know of ourselves.

Unfortunately, if we are more attached to the world or our own selfish ways, we will either miss the Light or see it and turn from it.  The apostle, John, tells us, "The Light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

With darkened minds and darkened hearts, we will quickly be deceived.  This is when evil gets interpreted as good and good is interpreted as evil.  We are told that even "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" ( 2 Corinthians 11:14).  Mostly, we find this exhibited by those people that either knowingly or unknowingly follow Satan.  It is Satan's servants that "also masquerade as ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:15).

We see examples of this all around us.  The most recent example occurred in the Colorado shooting that happened at Planned Parenthood.  The deceived and deranged shooter is said to have stated that he was responding to the fact that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal body parts.  Once the full truth about him is considered, it is likely that he is simply deranged and psychotic and abortion had little or nothing to do with his reprehensible actions.  In truth, and in the very same vile spirit as the one that drives abortion, this shooter stole innocent lives and inflicted brutality and carnage on innocent victims.  

With all the blindness around us, it is no wonder that our world has been thrown into chaos and confusion.  This is daily compounded by the fact that the goodness and glory of God is profaned publicly, while evil deeds are esteemed and praised.  The good news is that spiritual blindness can never subdue the glory of God in Christ because darkness will never overcome the Light (John 1:5).

As followers of Christ, God delivers us "out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).  It is God's love and Light and hope that sets us free.  When this love and hope penetrates our hearts, all darkness is chased away.

When Jesus walked this earth, He shared the exact same Light of God.  On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus radiates the refulgent glory of God from within.  We are told that "His appearance underwent a change in their presence; and His face shone clear and bright like the sun, and His clothing became as white as Light" (Matthew 17:2).

With Christ in us, we, too, carry His Light.  Jesus tells us that we "are the light of the world" and that we are to let our "light so shine before men that they may see [our] moral excellence and [our] praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify [our] Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14,16).

It is Jesus' Light that illumines our paths.  When we obey His commands and live by His principles, we cannot walk in darkness.  The book of Ephesians tells us that "the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life" (Ephesians 5:9).  We are then admonished to "try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him]" (Ephesians 5:10).

If we pursue the Light of Christ and pursue lives that are pleasing to Him, we will shine brighter and brighter in this perverse generation.  This is what will bring salvation to those who do not know Jesus and will illuminate paths that are darkened.  It is in this way that the Light of the world shines brightly in us and through us to a world that desperately needs to know Him.

If God chose the timing of a dark world for His first Advent, it makes sense that that could occur again for His second Advent.  Our role right now is similar to that of John the Baptist- we are to point others to the Living Christ.  Jesus is the only solution for our world today and the only true Light of the world!


"The Lord is my Light and my Salvation- whom shall I fear or dread?  The Lord is the Refuge and stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?"
                                                                                (Psalm 27:1)