May 10, 2004

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12, NKJV).

In the Jewish tradition, one of the revered names of the Messiah was "Light." For this reason, John constantly focused on the figure of light by way of identifying Jesus as the promised Messiah (see John 1:4, 5). Twenty-three times in the fourth Gospel John referred to Christ as the light. The declaration, "I am the light of the world," implies that Christ is to all humanity what the sun is to the material world. All life would cease without the sun.

Christ, the light of the world, is the light of life. As plants cannot live, grow, or reproduce without light, neither can we without Jesus, the light of the world (see John 12:46; 14:19).

Ellen G. White takes the analogy still further: "He [Christ] is the light of [the] sun and moon and star."--The Desire of Ages, p. 464. To have Jesus is to have light--spiritually, morally, and intellectually. He is light, and without Him there is no light. All light originates in Him who commanded: "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3, NKJV) and who said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12, NKJV). All light is a symbol of Christ, the light of the world. The pillar of cloud, the blazing lights of Mount Sinai, the light over the mercy seat, the light that filled Solomon's temple, and the seven golden lamps all pointed to Jesus, the light of the world.

In Jesus, truth blazes forth like a thousand simultaneous sunrises. "No other light ever has shone or ever will shine upon fallen man save that which emanates from Christ. Jesus, the Saviour, is the only light that can illuminate the darkness of a world lying in sin."--Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 39.

My Prayer Today: Lord, I ask that You illuminate my path today as the light of the world. Amen.