I Am the Light of the World
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (ESV)
Writing about darkness is not hard to do in this time. An unprecedented health crisis. Historic unemployment. Systemic injustice. Widespread unrest. The sin and struggle in our homes. The sorrow and shame in our hearts. Our souls are heavy and burdened. We grieve for what is broken, what is lost, what is unjust. But as those who belong to Jesus, we do not grieve as those who have no hope. For Jesus, our risen and reigning Savior, has said. . .
I AM the light of the world
The themes of light and darkness can be traced throughout the story of Scripture. In the beginning, the very first thing God does is speak light into darkness. And then he said that it was good. But darkness enters back in in a palpable way as sin enters the world. We are blinded, unable to rightly see who God is and who we are in light of him. And we are bound, in the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13), unable to free ourselves from the presence and the power of sin.
But God does not leave us alone. The entire story of Scripture is a story of light pushing back the darkness. God called his people in order that they would be a light to the nations. God’s people were intended to reflect to a weary and watching world something of what He is like.
As God redeemed his people from slavery, he did so by being their light. He led them—physically going with and before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In the tabernacle and in the temple, this same cloud descended, the glory of God himself, and he dwelt in their midst. God’s people are later exiled because of the darkness of their hearts, but even then they are not left without the promise that the light of the world will come.
The incarnation of Jesus is what the entire story has been moving and pointing towards—when the Light would enter the darkness and the darkness would not overcome it (John 1:5). Jesus says, I am the Light of the World. In my life, and death, and resurrection, I am ushering in a new Kingdom, a Kingdom diametrically opposed to the domain of darkness. A Kingdom where what is hidden in darkness is exposed. A Kingdom where what is bound by darkness is set free. A Kingdom in which the light of the world sits on the throne and darkness is no more.
In the ushering in of the new Kingdom, we are moving towards the end of the story—indeed we are in the final chapter. And at the end of the story, the light wins. We read of this in John’s final book, the book of Revelation. When God gives John a glimpse of the heavenly realities, he sees that the risen and reigning Christ is a light so strong and so glorious that darkness has no place any more. He says of the new Jerusalem,
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light the nations will walk, and the kings of earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there. (Revelation 21:23-25, ESV)
In the end of the story, the Light of the World shuts out all of the darkness. No more darkness. No more sickness. No more suffering. No more secrets. No more sin. No more shame. No more racism. No more abuse. No more injustice. No more anxiety. No more depression. No more loneliness. No more grief. In the end of the story, the Light of the World will sit upon the throne, and there will be no more darkness at all.
We long for this. Our hearts cry out for this. We hope for and joyfully anticipate the end of the story when Light reigns and darkness is no more. It is our sure and solid hope. But we are not there yet. The place we live is in the waiting, in the in between of the already and the not yet. And so it begs the question for us, who belong to Jesus, what is life to look like while we wait? What does it look like to live in the middle, in between when the Light came into the world and when he comes back to overcome all darkness for good? I believe it looks primarily like two things—walking in the light and walking as the light.
Walking in the Light
When I was a little girl, I refused to go to sleep without my closet light on. That one little light was a comfort to me because it did not merely stay in my closet; rather, it did what lights do—it radiated throughout my entire room, making sure any potential threats were exposed. Counselor, Ed Welch has often said that in Jesus, God wants to move in and light up all the dark places of our lives. His light radiates through us, and He will not rest until he has brought light to all the darkest corners of our hearts.
The bringing darkness to light in us seems terrifying at first. We do not want our secrets and our sins and our struggles to be exposed. We find comfort in them, and we fear the shame that comes with them being found out. But the fear is a part of the darkness. The light of the world comes to free us even from that. He comes to bring us into the light because there the sin and the fear and the shame lose their power. When light enters our hearts, the light wins and we can walk in freedom, in forgiveness, in wholeness, and with hope.
And when light reigns in our hearts, we can also walk towards one another. John says it this way,
. . . God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we live and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (I John 1:5b-7, ESV)
When the light of the world has taken up residence in our hearts, we are able to move towards others with honesty and hope. Honesty about where we have struggled, and hope because God has not left us there.
Walking as the Light
As we walk towards others in the light, we realize that God actually uses us to be the light itself. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples,
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, ESV)
We are the light of the world! What a wondrous reality, God has made his people to be what he is. And as such, he has called us to do what he does and go where he goes. He calls and compels us to intentionally move into dark places and to bring his light to bear. It is amazing that in the in between of the already and the not yet, God has no plan B. His first and only plan is to use his people to be agents of change and redemption and light in the world. His plan to push back the darkness until he comes again is us!!
Friends, in what seem like dark days, may we rest in the reality that we belong to the Light of the World. He has not left us alone, but rather willingly entered our darkness, and he will not stop his redemptive work until darkness reigns no more. In these days, may we walk both in and as the light. May we see the darkness both in and around us not with fear but with faith. May we be people of hope, grounded in the reality that the Light of the World has come. And may we boldly move into the darkness because that is exactly where the Light of the World delights to go.