John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus informs us of a concept of Christian living that must be a part of the disciple’s life. It has much in common with a couple of earlier characteristic ...And yet, quite different as well. The verse tells us that Jesus partially defines himself as being the “the LIGHT of the world”. In contrast, he informs us that if we intend to follow him and be his disciple, we MUST NOT walk in the darkness. To fully understand this characteristic of being a disciple of Christ, we must understand the Bible’s concept of darkness and light.
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Whatever this light and darkness is, we know that God is light. In other words, he is the very embodiment, source and definition of that light. I think it is safe to conclude that one of the characteristics of God that embodies the essence of the light is his purity and holiness. So much so that the text goes on to tell us that in God there is NO darkness AT ALL. And because of our need to be imitators of God, We too need to strive to be in the light, and that we should not walk in that darkness. OK....so God is the light, but what is the darkness?
John 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that light (Jesus, vrs 16) is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
The darkness here is contrasted against the purity of Jesus. Notice the key words or phrases that really define the darkness in these verses.
1. Men Loved darkness rather than light (vrs 19)
2. Their deeds were evil.
3. Evil doers hate and shun the light
4. Does not want his actions reproved
I think an obvious example to describe this concept is when a house is infested with cockroaches. If you walk into the kitchen in the middle of the night and turn on the lights, The roaches which have come out into the darkness to do what they do, now escape into the cracks and crevices to escape the light and being exposed. The same goes with the world...or at least it used to. This darkness then is the environment, atmosphere and nature of evil and/or sin. It is where sin abounds! The fact is, in this “darkness” there is a perception by those in it, that they can do what ever they like, because their actions are masked and hidden by the darkness. And because of that, folks that are in the dark tend to participate in activities and behaviors that they normally would not if they thought they would be seen of others. But another danger of the darkness by those desiring to be followers of Christ is that in the there are others that who could care less about God that will encourage you to do more sin, do it longer and to do it more often.
Deuteronomy 7:2-4 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: (3) Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. (4) For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
God warns the Jews not to be closely tied to the evil peoples of the land they are about to process. And the important thing is that he gives the specific reason for why. Because they WILL turn you away from God! That is the inherent danger with the darkness. And thus the reason why we should avoid the darkness at all costs. If God is the light and he is...and the darkness is inherently evil, and it is...Then why as Jesus disciples would we want to be in the darkness? Why would we want to expose ourselves to surroundings that would alienate us from God? The answer is that we shouldn’t. If we truly desire to be followers of God. We must avoid the darkness at all costs.
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
12 Hours of Jesus is a community focused effort to teach the world more about Jesus. Our first event is May 10th in Radcliff Kentucky.
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.
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