November 5, 2004

THE LIGHT OF LIFE

"Jesus... said 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life' " (John 8:12, NIV).

In this double self-designation, Jesus declares Himself to be not only the "light of the world," but also the "light of life." The light motif occupies a conspicuous place in the redemption story as it does in the creation story.

The words, light, and life, are repeatedly employed by the apostle John to depict the role of Christ in the work of redemption. Our wonderful Redeemer is portrayed as the light of the world as well as the light that is life. He is the life-producing light. Jesus is life-giving, life-generating light. There is something healing, renewing, and life-imparting about Jesus as the light of life. Those who receive and appropriate this light have life eternal. As the light of the world, Jesus came to dispel the suffocating darkness of sin, ignorance, and death and in so doing to give hope, meaning, and newness to our lives.

In Scripture, darkness and light are always described as mutually exclusive. Darkness symbolizes oppression, stagnation, ugliness, and death; light represents liberation, renewal, hope, and life. John expresses it poignantly: "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5, NIV). Everything about the "Light of Life" is hope-inspiring, life-giving, and life-sustaining. Jesus said, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12, NIV). In the world about us there can be no life without light. "Were the sun to withdraw his shining, all vegetation, all animal life, would have an end. This illustrates the fact that we cannot have spiritual life unless we place ourselves under the beams of the Sun of Righteousness."--Sons and Daughters of God, p. 281.

My Prayer Today: Lord, I praise You for the assurance that through You I can live the life that measures with the life of God. Amen.