Light in my life!

 

My studio (desk and quilting space) is in the basement with one window. My hubby’s den where he works from home is on the north side. It has a window but short winter days mean less light. To overcome the dimness in both spaces, we had LED lights installed. They are flat, round and about 12” across, set on the highest of five levels which is equal to daylight. With light like that, we both feel as if we are working outside in the sunshine.

Light is powerful. Sunshine not only gives warmth and life but also light in what would be a dark, cold place without it. The same could be said even more of Jesus who shines beyond the sun: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)

Today’s devotional says that the sun cannot be without its brightness or separated from its light, nor can God be separated from the glory of Jesus Christ. God has never been without Him, or He without the Father, yet as the brightness of the sun is not the sun, the glory of Christ is not the fullness of all that God is — in that He limited Himself by becoming a man.

Though he was in the form of God, (Jesus) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6–8)

My mind cannot grasp how this works. God remains God yet He became a babe to grow to an adult who lived here and died here, rising from the dead to bring us the light we need so that we do not ever need to walk in the darkness of sin and unbelief. This is utterly amazing.

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)

As the radiance of God’s glory, Christ can transmit that light into our lives so we can radiate the glory of God to a dark world. This has always been His plan. In the OT, He said:

I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. (Isaiah 42:6)

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

Then Jesus came, first to bring that same light to us. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4–5) Yet He knew we needed to grab hold of His light, allow it to be ‘installed’ in us and then keep it turned on:

Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.” (John 12:35)

The devotional writer adds that the term “exact imprint” from Hebrews 1:3 to describe Christ’s relationship to God’s nature is associated with an impression reproduced on a seal by a die or a stamp. This means Jesus Christ is the perfect, personal imprint of God in time and space, the same God who spoke (the Word) and light was produced in the void of darkness. Amazing!

Jesus Christ is the full expression of God and the exact reproduction of God’s nature in human history. He can come into the lives of sinners and give us light to see and know God. He is the source of spiritual life and His light gives purpose, meaning, peace, joy, and fellowship with Him forever.

PRAY: Jesus, You are the light of my life. I’m deeply affected by all that You are and all that You shine into my mind and heart. You gave up all that You are to become a human person so that You could shed light into our dark world and into our dark and separated-from-You hearts. Because of You, I can walk in the light of life, a light that is overwhelmingly bright.

PONDER: Read 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 and pray for light in the lives of those who are unable to see the wonder of Jesus.

 

 

Is it dark out?

 

2 Chronicles 22–23; Zechariah 6; John 9; Revelation 10

My grandfather became blind in his later years. A current friend is losing her sight. I cannot imagine their difficulty even though I sometimes try to do things with my eyes shut or leave the lights off so I must feel my way through a room, trying to imagine blindness.

This touches two methods by which darkness is produced; one by loss of sight; the other by absence of light. For a blind person, it is dark when the sun shines. For others, it is dark when the sun sets. Jesus used this concept to rebuke the Pharisees that they might realize their spiritual blindness.

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:39–41)

Jesus just healed a blind man in the presence of the Pharisees and used this to declare that anyone who cannot ‘see’ yet who realize their need for Him will come to Him and then be able to ‘see’ but those who are self-righteous and think they have all the answers and have no need of the Savior will become blind because they have rejected the “light of the world” (see John 8:12).

The Pharisees assumed that with their learning, reputation, and high standing, they certainly would not be counted among the “blind” but the Lord told them otherwise. In contrast to the man who had received his sight, the Pharisees had sight but no light. They were spiritually blind, though they claimed to see. Those who admitted blindness could receive the light and see, but those who thought they saw would remain in their darkness. And their guilt remained, whether they felt guilty or not.

This shows the danger of becoming complacent and self-satisfied. Such attitudes shut off light from the Lord resulting in spiritual blindness. Because Jesus is the Light of the World, He gives me a glimmer of hope. I need to follow the Light He gives me. Otherwise I am left with nothing but blind judgment and self-darkening opinions. Like the Pharisees, I might even claim to see, but if this claim is based only on my self-focused evaluation, then I am guilty of spiritual pride and blind to the fact that I am blind.

APPLY: This illustrates one more reason that I need Jesus Christ and need to read and study His Word every day. He alone keeps my eyes open and seeing . . . even at that, I can be stubborn and too proud to see and admit that He has diagnosed correctly. Oh Jesus, keep me from responding to You like a Pharisee — with indignation instead of humility. I thank You that You care enough to not only check my vision but tell me the truth when it strays from 20/20 towards darkness.