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.” John 8:12
“After centuries of study, just 200 years ago, we were finally able to come up with a mathematical representation for the very first thing God created. Einstein came on the scene and he actually demonstrated that light acted as both a particle and a wave, and he said that that discovery was the only truly revolutionary thing he ever did. Let there be light. It took two words and one moment for light to enter into human history, and it has taken us millennia of time to barely scratch the surface of understanding that first thing that God called into existence.”
In John One verses four and five, he would say… ” In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The light of Jesus brought community to the marginalized and healing to the sick. It brought hospitality to the foreigner. It brought prominence to women, food to the hungry, and deliverance to the oppressed.
Obedience does nothing to help us earn or keep eternal life, sin does nothing to cause us to lose it or prove we never had it. The reason God doesn’t want us to sin is because sin damages us. You see, sin doesn’t stop God from loving us, nor does it stop God from doing everything He can to rescue us from the devastating and destructive consequences of sin (darkness). Sin definitely doesn’t prove that we were never His son or daughter to begin with.
If you really understand grace, and if you really understand God, and if you really understand God’s love for you, and after understanding all this, you really want to go sin, then you are free to do it but also reap the destructive consequences. He loves us that much.
Mark Battterson said, “Jesus didn’t die to make us safe… but dangerous…” Faithfulness isn’t holding the fort. It’s storming the gates of hell with the light and love of Jesus Christ knowing that we’re safe with him. His light in us causes change, causes us to take risks, maybe risk everything for him, knowing that we are safe and protected by his love and grace.
Father, I thank you today that your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We thank you that your presence 2000 years ago pierced through a very dark world and the darkness of our world still today does not overcome your light, your grace, your peace, your joy. God, I pray today that we would see your light, that it would illuminate the way ahead and that it would warm our souls and our hearts.
Deb Hill