The true light which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. John 1:9-10
In trying to economise on energy use, I’ve often gone into a room to get something without turning the light on. Not a good idea! I once went out with two completely different shoes on, because I rummaged in the bottom of a dark wardrobe, in a dark room and lifted what I thought was a pair of shoes. I rushed out of the dark house, on a dark night, into a dark car, and didn’t realise my mistake until I walked into a brightly lit hotel with one black patten shoe on one foot and one pale grey shoe on the other. To make matters worse, one was slightly higher than the other so it looked like I was walking with a limp!
The first thing that God created was light. We need physical light to live. Every seed planted in the dark ground begins to push up towards the light. That’s natural light. But there is also spiritual light. This is what it means to have spiritual understanding. When sin came into the world, spiritual understanding was darkened. Every human being has the inbred inclination to want to choose for themself what is true and right. Its like rummaging in the dark thinking you’ve got the right pair of shoes when in reality you haven’t.
Jesus came to give true spiritual light to everyone. He made the world. He knows everything about everything. He knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we speak them and our deeds before we do them. He came to give us spiritual light so that we would know how to live in fellowship with Him and in the blessings that he has promised us. His Word is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Psalm 119:105. Yet today, just as it was 2,000 years ago, the world does not recognise that Jesus is the true light giver.
We rummage round in our darkened world grabbing at anything that feels like it’s the right thing. We may wear our odd pair of shoes with pride in our originality, or with embarrassment in our mistake. Either way they are still mismatched and we are still limping.
Jesus came to shine His true light on our lives, not to embarrass us, or condemn us, but to show us where we are wrong and mistaken and to show us the right path to walk on. The Bible teaches us that there are 2 paths in life. The broad way that is so wide that everyone can walk merrily along that path doing their own thing and believing their own truth, living in spiritual darkness. But that way leads to destruction.
The other way is a much narrower path, with few that choose to walk upon it. You need spiritual light and understanding to see that path, but once you are on it and keep on it, this path will lead you to eternal life, eternal peace and eternal joy.
Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
