Four centuries before the birth of Christ, the Greek philosopher Plato said, “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Physicists tell us that light is not tangible like a metal but is an electromagnetic wave that comes in a spectrum of frequencies and produces a spectrum of colors – some not visible to the human eye. Darkness, on the other hand, is simply the absence of light. In Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” So before there was heaven or earth, there was God. We humans have such a limited perspective on reality that it is a good starting point to remind ourselves how infinitely unlimited God is. And the first words we hear from God are, “Let there be light.”
In our Scripture portion, Jesus has been teaching in the Temple during the Feast of Booths which was an observance to celebrate God’s provision of a harvest in September and October. The custom was (is) for the people to live in temporary shelters made of branches and leaves in remembrance of their ancestors’ wanderings in the wilderness after God brought them out of Egypt. Jesus has performed miracles and made statements that pretty clearly indicate he is the Messiah and the people are of divided opinions and the officials are angry. Jesus tells them plainly, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” This, of course, lights the Pharisees’ hair on fire. They know what the Old Testament scriptures mean when they talk about light.
Isaiah 49:6, “I will make you a light for the nations . . .” is talking about the Servant of the Lord (the Messiah) who will not just restore Israel but also, “that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” God is talking about OUR salvation – you and I – here on the opposite side of the earth from Jerusalem, thousands of years in the future. Jesus is saying, “Yes, that light! I’m the one!” In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:14 – 16, Jesus told his listeners who believe in him that, “You are the light of the world. . .” That YOU includes us today so “ . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians (5:8) tells them and us to “walk as children of light.”
So is the light your sparkling personality, great wardrobe, bank account balance, or new car? That was not a trick question because there’s all kinds of artificial light that people are drawn to – the Las Vegas strip comes to mind. But even if you are one of the vanishingly small numbers of players who actually win something, you’re still going to die and come face to face with the one who said, “I am the light of the world.”
One of my favorite writers and thinkers is C. S. Lewis who said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” In his essay “The Theology of Poetry” he highlights that faith in the risen Christ and the Biblical Truth he embodies is not just a matter of personal experience, but also the lens through which we can understand the world. The world can be beautiful but it is fallen, wounded and dying because of the sin of humanity (Romans 8:22) and only the light of God, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and the living Holy Spirit of God alive in our born again hearts can assure us that we will live forever in the redeemed creation of the New Heaven and New Earth. If we think God saved us to be our personal genie in a bottle and make this life comfortable, we have seriously missed the point. (1 Corinthians 15: 19 – 26).
Look for the Light of Life, invite Him into your life, and walk by that light into eternity.