“He Is the Light” John 8:12; 1 John 1:5-7; Matthew 5:14-16

First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor uses an old World War II chapel for their worship center. In many ways, it is a very nice looking church. When we first got there, there were several things the church members pointed out to me about the church building.

They showed the water mark from the flooding during Hurricane Carla. The curtain behind the choir loft was provided by a man who insisted that the drapes be red to represent the blood of Christ. The light fixtures were made by a church member. They were very pretty, but they were made out of wood and anything above 40 watts would burn the fixtures, so the light in the church was dim. It was made worse because the windows were an amber color, and the church members loved their amber glass windows.

I noticed that a gap had appeared in one of the windows. Being an old building, it was inevitable that settling would occur. The result was that we had to replace the windows. One of the things the members wanted was to keep the amber glass, something I was not happy about. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for me, amber glass was no longer being manufactured, and we had to settle for a clear crinkle glass for our fixed windows.

The day came for the windows to be replaced. The workers came, I showed them the windows to be replaced, and went into my office to study and work. When I came out of my office for lunch, I looked into the worship center to see how things were going.

Half the windows had been removed, and where once light filtered dimly through the yellow windows, there was now beautiful, brilliant light streaming into our worship center. The light transformed the dark place into a vibrant place. I loved it. I thought it was one of the best things to happen to that church building in a long time.

Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” One of the attributes of God is that He is light, and His light enables us to walk His path with confidence and assurance. As light, God is worthy of praise, and because He gives us the light, He is worthy of our thanksgiving.

Central Truth: We give God praise and thanksgiving because His light guides us in all ways.

God’s light:

Is manifested in Christ (John 8:12)

John uses the concept of light to convey various truths about Jesus, His ministry and our walk as disciples. In John 1:4-5, he writes, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of the world. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

When God appeared to the people of Israel during the Exodus, He appeared as a column of light at night and a column of smoke by day. When the angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, the glory of the Lord appeared, a brilliant light that shone around the shepherds. God’s glory is consistently being described as a presence of light throughout the Bible, and this light is present when God is present.

Jesus tells us that if we have seen Him we have seen the Father (cf. John 14:9). The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (cf. Hebrews 1:3).

Jesus Himself tells us in John 8:12 that He is the light of the world. He tells us that whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

With my working hours, I always come to bed after Kim has been asleep. Our bedroom is dark, and I have to walk through the dark bedroom to get to the bathroom where I can undress and get ready for bed. Fortunately, the advent of cell phones has given me the ability to see my way through the room to the bathroom door. I use the soft light, holding it close to my stomach so as to give just enough light to guide my way. There have been times when my cell battery has died, and I have to stumble through the dark bedroom without any light. Even though it’s a path I’ve walked many a time, and I am familiar with the layout of the room, I nevertheless find myself groping and hoping I don’t walk into a wall or a closed door. My steps are uncertain, hesitant, because I’m unsure of my path.

Jesus tells us He is the light of the world, and with that promise tells us we will never walk in darkness. Because He is the light of the world, He illuminates our path so we don’t have to stumble and guess. It has been my experience that God never illuminates the entire path, but only that part of the path we are walking at the time. Still, there is enough light that we can walk the path before us, with a confidence that He will light the next part of the path as we come to it.

God’s light is Jesus, and through Jesus we know we can walk with confidence the path He places before us each day. For this, He is worthy of praise and thanksgiving.

Brings us into fellowship with Him (1 John 1:5-7)

John continues his symbolism of light in his first letter. In his introductory remarks, John is giving the readers an idea of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, using a series of test statements to assure the readers to make their joy complete.

In vs. 5-7, John writes, “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

The idea that John wants to convey here is that there is a clear contrast between light and darkness. In this context, the light John refers to is the purity and holiness associated with God, and darkness represents sin and evil of Satan. The Prince of Darkness tries to thwart our fellowship with God, but God is mightier than darkness. The mark of a disciple’s faith is how we decide to live. Do we walk in obedience to the Father, or do we walk without regard to God’s will for us and our life?

Something we need to remember about light is that light always overcomes darkness. Darkness is a natural part of life, and for most of our history as human beings, we have sought ways to overcome the darkness with light. We harnessed fire to provide light, warmth and the means to make food tasty. I heard someone talking about the significance of our ability to heat our food. We used that fire to give us torches to explore dark places. As we developed, we invented lanterns and developed better fuel that allowed us to better overcome the night. With the advent of light bulbs, our illumination of the world is complete. We carry flashlights and cell phones and other devices to allow us to overcome the dark. No one has ever invented anything to introduce darkness because darkness is the absence of light. When light is introduced, darkness flees.

So it is with our walk with God. As we come into fellowship with Him through the saving power of Christ, the darkness of sin and disobedience flees from the light of the world that is Jesus. This light gives us fellowship with God and with each other. And that light purifies us from our sins.

Because the light of God enables us to fellowship with Him, He is worthy of praise and thanksgiving.

Makes us the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16)

It’s interesting that Jesus introduces the Sermon on the Mount with the words that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Both are essential elements for quality living. Both salt and light purify.

In the Sermon, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (vs. 14-16).

A couple of things about these verses. First, notice that Jesus makes a declarative statement—“You are the light of the world.” He didn’t say we are like the light or that we can become the light. No, if we are His disciples, then we are automatically the light of the world. It means we are examples to the world of what it means to be a child of God. Because we follow Christ, we are the light of the world.

Next, Jesus uses the examples of a city on a hill and a lamp.

I remember as a little boy, our family would travel from El Paso to Marshall at night. Dad reasoned, rightly so, that if we traveled across Texas at night, the trip would go quicker for three young children. We’d sleep through most of the trip. I would often find myself up front, sitting between Mom and Dad, and the darkness of the Texas night would descend on the emptiness of West Texas. We’d be driving in darkness, with only the headlights giving us light. Every now and then, off in the distance, we’d see lights, and those lights indicated we were coming to a town or city. Fort Stockton, Pecos, Odessa-Midland—it always fascinated me to see that light shining in the darkness, confirming that we were indeed getting closer to our destination.

The city set on a hill let the weary traveler know that rest was ahead, that food and shelter were nearer. The city set on a hill could be seen for miles around and confirmed that the journey was nearly over. We are like that city set on a hill. We, as the light of the world, are a comfort and a source of encouragement to those we meet each day.

Like a lamp, we provide guidance for the entire room or house. We need light to read, to do tasks, to do the things we need to do. As Jesus pointed out, we don’t turn on a light or light a lamp and then hide it, thus limiting the light’s effect. Instead, we put it in a place where it can do the most good.

Finally, Jesus tells us that as the light on the stand gives light, we are to let our light shine in such a way that others will see our good deeds. We do this not to bring praise and honor to ourselves, but to focus the attention on the Father in heaven. When people see the good deeds, they will give praise to God. One of the ways we ensure this is by letting God live through us, letting Him do His good works through us. Another way we do this is by proclaiming clearly that all that is done through us is the result of God’s Spirit living in and through us.

It is interesting that Jesus tells us in John that He is the light of the world, while in the Sermon He tells us that we are the light of the world. The only way we can be the light of the world is if the One who is the Light in the world is shining through us. When we let Christ shine in and through us, He is given praise and thanksgiving.

Conclusion

There are times when light can be annoying. If the light is too bright, it hurts the eyes. If the room is dark and someone suddenly turns on the overhead light, it can startle us.

But on the whole, we need light. Experts tell us that the dimmer light of winter can cause depression, while the brighter light of summer alleviates depression. While we may enjoy rainy days, we also enjoy days when the sun shines brightly. We need light to provide energy to our world, to grow our plants and to show us the way.

The light we get from the sun is temporary. It will fade away. But the light that is Jesus is an eternal light, that will illuminate truth and God’s ways for all time.

Because God is light, He is worthy of praise. Because He gives us His light, He is worthy of thanksgiving.