Jesus Is the Light Of Men
The other night the transformer that supplies power to my neighborhood caught on fire. The electricity in my house flickered on and off for several minutes until finally it shut off. Everything that ran on electricity fell powerless and the house was completely dark. I looked out the window, the entire neighborhood was also dark and quiet. No street lights, no house lights, no light at all except the illumination of the moon.
I fumbled into the kitchen and found the drawer where the flashlights were kept. I pulled out the biggest and the most powerful one and turned it on. The flashlight gave enough light to walk around without running into things but not enough to continue on with life as normal.
I waited for the lights to come on but after a while I decided to give up and get ready for bed. As I did my normal routine such as brush my teeth, wash my face and change my clothes, I noticed how difficult it was with only a little flashlight to illuminate my way. A house once full of light had become very dark. With no surrounding lights, the light the flashlight gave was pretty dim. I couldn't help but think about people trying to navigate this life with little or no light to see by.
In John chapter 1, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." ( John 1:1-5 ).
Do you ever notice that when light is introduced into darkness, the light overtakes the darkness. When a light is turned on in a room, the room lights up, not the other way around. The Bible says, that Jesus is the light that went forth and illuminated the darkness. The Amplified Bible explains it this way, "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]" ( John 1:5 ). Jesus is the light that shines on the darkness and conquers it.
As I fumbled around with only my flashlight to see by, many stumble through this life in complete darkness. Just as I staggered through my nightly routine tripping and accommodating the darkness, many falter through life with no direction to follow. In the same way that lights make everything visible and bring illumination to our lives, Jesus' radiance makes our course clear, because He is the light that shines on and overpowers the darkness.
Living in a little truth or a little light is like trying to navigate life with a flashlight. Many do not realize they can have the true steadfast light with which to see by clearly by. If you look at the life of Jesus and what He said about himself He always demonstrated this spiritual truths in a physical way. For instance, Jesus exclaimed that he was the light of the world in John chapter 9, shortly before he opened the eyes of a man who had been born blind.
When the blind man was questioned about who opened his eyes, he said, 'One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" This man had walked around in complete darkness his whole life until he met Jesus. Who not only gave him sight, more importantly, He illuminated His life to the Messiah. Jesus conquered the darkness he had been born into and gave him use of his eyes. But Jesus also conquered the darkness that surrounded his heart and open the eyes to the life from God that was promised and was the light of men.
This spiritual truth was explained in a physical way. When Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man He exclaimed that he was the light of the world. For the blind man, this was a awesome demonstration of God's power and love. But when he recognized who Jesus was, then the truth that He was the Messiah overshadowed What had happened in the physical.
Recently, I was at a conference where a women, who had become blind in one eye because of an infection, was healed. During the course of the evening, the pigment had completely returned to her eye and she regain full use of it. When asked to share here story, she was most excited to share that Jesus had saved her. She had come to the conference not knowing Him but during the conference she has recognized her need for a savior and had called upon the name of the Lord. She knew she had passed from death to life. She was excited about seeing and being healed, but more importantly, she was excited that she came face to face with Jesus and received life from Him.
Don't be surprised if the world does not share your enthusiasm about our Savior being the promised light of the world. In our example from John 9, the Pharisees were upset at this mans story and refused to acknowledge that he had been born blind. They couldn't refute that he could see, so they doubted his story and threw him out of the temple. When Jesus once again found the man and knew what had happened to him, he told him, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" ( John 9:39 ). Jesus came to open blind eyes and blind hearts. Once the truth of God is illuminated in our hearts we no longer live in darkness but in His light. Unfortunately, the world is still operating in darkness.
Once our eyes have been opened, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the World. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" ( Matthew 5:14-16 ). In the same way that Jesus shone into the darkness of this world and conquered it, we also shine on the darkness of this world and overpower it.
As soon as the transformer was fixed in my neighborhood and the power returned, I turned on the lights. It was much easier to see and operate with the lights on. I no longer had use for the flashlight that only dimly represented light. In the same way, It is impossible for us not to sparkle in the midst of the shadows of this world. We are called to illuminate what Jesus has done for the humanity. By doing this and letting our light shine before men, we bring glory to our Father in heaven. Passing this on from person to person confirms the truth that Jesus spoke 2000 years ago, 'I have come into this world, so that the blind will see...' ( John 9:39 ).