TURNING THE LIGHTS ON

John 8:12

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."

                I had been meeting with Jim for several weeks, explaining to him what it means to become a follower of Jesus. Then the day came when Jim was ready and he prayed to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. We met at our regular time the following week. The first thing that Jim said to me was, Pastor Dave I am mad at you. Why, I asked, what did I do? He said, after I prayed last week, I can’t listen to the radio any more. Have you listening to what they are saying in those songs? It is so wrong! The light had just gone on for Jim.

                People who do not know Jesus are living in a darkness of which they are totally unaware. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:4, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. People do not see the world as it really is. Instead, they are blind to sin and its realities. For them, it is just the way life is. When a person comes to personal faith in Jesus Christ, the lights get turned on.

                Sometimes, when we don’t understand something, we will say that we are in the dark. When we begin to comprehend something, we say the light went on. It is not by accident that the cartoon image of someone gaining understanding is a lightbulb above their head. When comprehension comes, the light goes on. Just as physical light reveals things as they are, spiritual light helps us see the reality of the world around us.

                Jesus said that He is the light of the world. Jesus was not talking about physical light, but spiritual light. The people of Jesus’ day were in the dark about what it really means to have a relationship with God. They were caught in a religious system that had obscured the reality of who God is and how we are to relate to Him. Jesus came to turn the lights on. He began to reveal the truth about God’s nature, His character, and His compassion. Where the religious system offered guilt, Jesus offered grace. Where the religious system demanded works, Jesus called for faith. Where the religious system put their focus on outward appearances, Jesus put His focus on the condition of people’s hearts.

                Back in 1988, I took a mission trip to the Philippines. I was assigned to work with a young Filipino pastor in a small village. I was given a room in a small apartment with two young, single men. My first day in the village I encountered some of the largest cockroaches I have ever seen in my life. Cockroaches come out in the dark, so every time I turned on the light in my room, there was a mad scramble of cockroaches escaping the light. In an attempt to limit my contact with these creepy crawlers, I slept with my light on.

                As Jesus began to turn the lights on, many people began to run for cover. They were trying to hide from the truth that was exposed by the light of Christ. Jesus revealed the affect of His light in John 3:19-21. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

                The light of Christ still causes some people to run for cover. They do everything in their power to extinguish the light, or at least to dim the light. The light of Christ is just too threatening to those who are living in darkness. At the same time, there are many who are drawn to the light of Christ.

                We have been given the responsibility of reflecting the light of Christ back into our world. Once we have stepped out of the darkness and have embraced the truth, we then need to shine Jesus’ light to those around us. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16, "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.”

                We have the opportunity to turn the lights on for those around us. Not everyone will respond in a positive way but, if we are consistent, we can encourage others to step out of the darkness and into the light of Christ.