Father today has been full of variety and we’ve been going from the very beginning. Calm my mind and heart to see and hear what You would have to lay on my heart this quiet evening. Amen.
John 1:3-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of my favorite things in this world is lighthouses! When I was a children’s pastor at the end of the 20th century (now that sounds funny…but it’s true!) my office at the church was decorated in a lighthouse theme and the same is true for our office at home. I have a decorative lighthouse border at the top of the walls. I have a beautiful puzzle in the shape of a lighthouse made up of different lighthouses. I have pictures, figurines, a mirror in a life preserver frame, and I try every year to get a calendar for my door with a different lighthouse for every month (there is also a small one above the computer monitor). Lighthouses are beautifully inspiring, and I think they communicate a lot about what it means to be a follower of Christ.
As I read through these verses several thoughts came to me. First, the Amplified Bible capitalizes the word Light and tells me that it is not referring to some random light but is speaking of Christ – the Word – the Light.
It says in verse 4, “In Him [that is, Christ] was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.”
Jesus is Light! And verse 5 continues with this line of thought when it says, “The Light shines on in the darkness…”
Now I understand John’s reference to darkness but for whatever reason, the Amplified Bible’s note on it just jumped out at me! It states that the meaning of the word darkness is to be understood as the world immersed in sin: all that stands in opposition to God and biblical truth.
And in the middle of all the sin of the world, there stands the Light, strong, and true! And as I thought along those lines the image of a lighthouse in the midst of a storm came to mind. It is easy to picture a lighthouse on a beautiful sunny day as it sits serenely on the shoreline with the sound of gulls echoing across the expanse in their flight. But it takes on a whole other frame of mind to picture that same lighthouse with waves crashes against its stone walls while still putting forth its light. It is not overwhelmed. It does not stop doing its job because the storm is fierce. It continues to shine regardless of what the world has to throw at it!
And that is Jesus – the Light of the world!
But there is one last thing that John puts forth. We understand that Jesus is the Light and that despite everything He stands, and His Light is not quelled.
Jesus the Light shines in spite of the fact that the darkness doesn’t understand Him. And try as it might, the darkness cannot overpower the Light! It cannot appropriate it, that is, as Merriam-Webster defines the word it cannot take or make use of that Light without authority or right nor can it absorb it. And lastly, darkness is unreceptive to Light.
Long has the world attempted to eliminate the Light…but it has not succeeded nor will it ever be able to! Many despise the fact that the Light makes visible every aspect of our lives. We cannot hide who we are from Him. Yet…He loves us still, warts and all. And we can surely rejoice in that! Amen!
Feb 7th, 2021, Sun, 7:12 pm
