I grew up duck hunting, and to be a duck hunter in these parts is hard work. The only species of duck that we have is the wood duck, which should tell you something about where you find them. You have to get down in the swamps and creeks. They can be real spooky places, especially in the first and last light of the day. One evening, my dad and I had a fairly successful hunt in some of the thickest swamp you’ve ever seen. You could barely see 10 yards in front of you thanks to all the little hickory and oak saplings. Unfortunately, my dad shot a duck and it landed right in the middle of a little beaver lake. Darkness fell while we were trying to figure out the best way to get to it without getting wet, and those thick woods became a special shade of black. To make matters worse, the coyotes began to howl close by. Now, I’m not afraid to admit that I get a little skittish in the dark, and the coyotes took that to another level. Well, my dad and I devised a plan to throw a stick out on a string to catch the duck and bring him in. We were focusing on the task at hand when out of a nowhere this loud screech burst out above us. It took all I could do not to run, and I wheeled my flashlight around to spot a screech owl not 20 feet directly over us. At that point, I left my dad to get his duck on his own, and I headed to the truck.
I don’t know many people who are totally comfortable in the dark. You may be tougher than I am, but I bet if I put you in the right situation and left you for long enough, the darkness would get to you. When the darkness is so great that it seems to have a weight to it, you find that you crave the light as much as you would a cool drink of water. What is it about light that brings comfort in those darkest moments? For one, light reveals the reality of a situation. My dad used to tell me, “Son, there is nothing there in the darkness that isn’t there in the light.” In other words, those coyotes and bobcats are out there in the woods when it’s light too, but I just didn’t worry about them then because I could see. Light reveals that spooky shadow to just be a stump. Light also drives away the things of darkness. Roaches scatter in the light. Predators are deterred by a beam of light.
In a similar way, Scripture uses the contrast of light and darkness to illustrate the difference between life with God and life outside of his fellowship. At the very beginning, in Genesis 1:2, the world before God’s creative work was said to be covered in darkness. And, God’s first work of creation was to create light. In the ninth plague on Egypt in Exodus 10, God brings darkness over all of Egypt, except where the people of Israel lived. There, the presence of God was felt by the radiance of light. Darkness is also given as an analogy of the sinful human heart. In John 3:19, Jesus says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”
We have a sense that this is true – that our world is covered in the darkness of sin. Just this past week I heard terrible news of a person I am connected to who was in a horrible car accident. When the paramedics began to work on her in the car, they realized that she had been shot in the head, which is what led to the car wreck. It’s now believed that someone, in a fit of road rage, pulled up beside her and shot while they were flying down the interstate. There is darkness all around us. People do not know which way is right and which is wrong. People cannot see the truth clearly, and evil lives in broad daylight.
But John tells us, at the beginning of his Gospel, of a great hope for humanity. He begins by telling us of this “Word” who was with God and was God. This “Word” was active in creation. And, in verse 4-5, we are told that this Word is the “light of men”, and this light shown into the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it. Jesus Christ is this Word of God who came to bring light to this dark world. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Friend, understand that Jesus came to set you free from the darkness of this life. You do not have to wonder about your purpose, because Jesus reveals the true way to live. You do not have to figure morality out for yourself, trying to reason right and wrong from some natural law. Jesus has revealed what is true and right and good.
But, the greatest work of Jesus in bringing light is that he has revealed who the true children of God are. In verses 9-11, John tells us of a sad development in Jesus’s story. He says that Jesus came into the world, but the world did not know him. By “world”, John means the Gentile world. They didn’t know Jesus and weren’t looking for him because they were walking in the darkness of their pagan religions. And, sadder still, John says that Jesus came to his own people, and they rejected him. John is speaking of the Jews here. Jesus was born a Jew to a family who were descendants of the great Jewish king, David. And yet, the religious and political leaders of his day rejected him. They hated that he welcomed sinners. They hated that he healed the unclean. They hated that he upended their schemes for fleecing the poor and broke down their power structures. They hated him to the point that they plotted to kill him. In the greatest conspiracy ever devised, Gentiles who did not know this true light and Jews who rejected him joined forces to destroy the light of God in Jesus Christ by nailing him to a Roman cross. Then, they took his ravaged body and placed it in a tomb, rolling a stone in front of it to hide any last beam of light. They placed guards in front of the tomb to ensure that the whole world never saw this light again. Yet, on the third day, an earthquake shook the tomb and an angel with an appearance like lightning rolled away the stone and sat on it. All those Roman guards could do is tremble because of the power revealed before them. Jesus was alive, and in his resurrection, he brought light up from the grave. Jesus has defeated death and hell so that all who trust in him will enjoy eternal light with him. So, John says in verse 12 – “To all who did receive him, who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
So, the question for you today is this: will you remain in darkness, or will you choose the light of Jesus Christ. Nothing good can come of dwelling in darkness, and the ultimate judgment for anyone who remains there is a life of eternal darkness in hell. In Matt. 8:12, Jesus says that those who reject him will be “thrown into outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Won’t you come to the light of Jesus today?
No comments:
Post a Comment