The Light of Life
Paths and decisions. Choices and outcomes. Consequences for everything. The Light of Life isn’t wish fulfilment, but it is the right thing to do.
"novastock0040" by Gerard Fritz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
13 So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true."
14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
15 "You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
16 "But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
17 "Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
18 "I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."
19 So they were saying to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
John 8:12-19 (NASB)
We had a long weekend for this lesson, Memorial Day weekend. The title, “Can Someone Else Turn Out Your Light?” asked the question whether or not someone else could snuff out your gifts, your ability to reflect the love of Jesus to other people? We concluded they could but the point wasn’t fighting people who are trying to move us off the path God has for us, but rather our continued assertion that God is right even though we know things are doomed to fail.
In the scripture we used, Job 33:26-30 Job talked briefly about repentance and how God would take the penitent person back revealing the Light of Life. In the scripture for this devotion, Jesus opens with that same statement as a declaration that those who follow Him “…will have the Light of Life.”
Job has a strong example of perseverance but Jesus has the ultimate tale of sticking to the path God has but there is a subtle undercurrent in Jesus’ story about perseverance in the face of certain defeat. We take the title Christian meaning we strive to be like our example, Jesus. We should understand that example and try to be more like Him.
41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
42 saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
Luke 22:41-42 (NASB)
The Pharisees weren’t just trying to knock Jesus off God’s path for His life. They were trying to kill Him. We know they will be ultimately successful, but here’s the hard truth. Jesus knew they would be successful too, and He still walked that path.
Our road doesn’t have to be difficult but often times we make it so. Sometimes it isn’t us who makes our road difficult but Satan as we become more and more successful in walking God’s path for our lives. Sometimes the bumps in the road are consequences from someone else’s bad decisions but usually it is either our fault or the adversary’s fault. Regardless, that does not absolve us of our duty to walk God’s path and not our own. The Light of Life is the illumination for our feet, the revelation of where to step. The Light of Life is not “speaking prosperity into our lives.” It is the revelation of the better way, the city on the hill, the way to God. The Light of Life presents a choice: the light or the darkness. One leads to eternal life and the other to eternal punishment. There is no third option, no fence to sit on, no middle ground. There is no lawyering our way out of the judgment of which path has been taken by saying, “I didn’t know.” Not making a choice is a choice and it does not absolve us of the consequences. The good news is that the one who makes this judgment has a heart forged in love for all of God’s creation because He was there when it was made. The bad news is He is the only way to a good outcome. Decisions have consequences, and not deciding is of itself, a choice.
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
John 14:6-7 (NASB)