while today

Jesus is the light of the world, and His light shines upon all, but people will have vastly different reactions to Him.  What is your response to the Light? 

John writes in the opening of his gospel, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5 NASB95). Jesus stepped in to this dark world as a blazing beacon of light. What was the response of the darkness?  They didn’t comprehend it. What do we learn from this? Don’t be surprised if the world cannot grasp who you are or what you stand for. John continues, “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9) Those who will step into the light of Jesus will find enlightenment. God will shine light into their hearts and onto their path.

In John 3, we learn more about how people respond to the Light. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:19-21). We learn some profound truths here. Why will some people refuse to come to Jesus?  It is because they don’t want the light shining on how they are living. If we live in darkness we can come to love the darkness and desire to remain in it. What a dangerous situation to be in! It is like spiritual Stockholm syndrome, where abused captives begin to love their captor. What else can we learn from these verses? We should not be surprised if the world hates us. It is the nature of darkness to hate the light, and we are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).

But there is also good news here.  We see that those who practice the truth will come to Jesus. It may not always be comfortable for us to come, because the light does expose our sinfulness. But those who love truth will come. And even those who are walking in darkness can choose to come, as you and I did. Not everyone in darkness wants to remain there.

Let us be encouraged by the offer of Jesus, made to all people: “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’” (John 8:12) Let us continue to follow Jesus and let Him light up our world.

—Scott Colvin