Devo 33
1/16/01
Hi. Why yes, thanks, I'm doing great. And you? Great, glad to hear it. I hope your week has gone well (yes I do remember that school has started back up, but besides that...) I had the opportunity this last weekend to help out at a Jr. High retreat at Timberlake--Satuday we had at least two, maybe three inches of snow blanket the camp--what a sight. It's probably the closest I'll ever be to living in a black and white world. Funny, that's kinda what I'll be talking about here. (kind of)
"Ambassadors of Light"
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14
Last week, if you'll recall, I talked about being the salt, the preservers and purifiers of earth. This week I'm moving on to the next verse where Jesus refers to me, us, as the light of the world. What a statement! The more I think about this identity, the more I come to believe that this may be one of the most powerful metaphors Christ used to describe those who follow Him. This statement does no less than to identify the believer as one of God's own. Let me see if I can explain.
"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:3
These are the very first words spoken in the Bible. Verses one and two set the scene of the creation by describing the total void of anything we would identify with our universe. Then boom! God speaks and calls forth light. The very first words spoken by God recorded in the Bible are a command for there to be light. This before any other creative act. It's as if the presence of light was foundational to all that would follow. In fact, as much as scientists debate about whether God really created the universe or not, what they can't debate about is the importance of light to our planet. Should the sun and all the stars suddenly be extinguished, life would cease on this planet. Read Ezekiel 32:7,8 sometime and look at the words the prophet uses to describe the destruction of Egypt; darkness is death. Light is necessary for life.
"But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." Exodus 10:23
"And you shall command the children of Israel...to cause the lamp to burn continually." Exodus 27:21
Light is also equated with the presence of God. During the plague of darkness in Egypt, only the children of God had light within their homes while the rest of Egypt moved about in a darkness "which may even be felt" (Ex. 10:21) And later when God gave Moses the commands concerning the temple and its furnishings, He specified that the lamp before Him be always burning. Remember how John describes God in 1 John? "God is light, and in Him is no darkness." (1:5) So, if God is light, and light is life, what does that make us as the light of the world?
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:7
Through the sin we allow in our lives, our relationship with God, and others, suffers. But the more of God's light we allow to replace our sin, the more God can be seen in our lives. But what about others in the world who don't know God? They still live in darkness, and darkness is death. "The LORD is my light and my salvation...", but is a light meant to be hidden? No of course not, the light of God in our lives was put there to blaze forth before all men. As the light of the world we are called to drive out darkness. And once darkness is gone, life can begin it's work. Look again at the creation. First there was light. During the next couple of days God created the sky and earth, and sea. And then He went and filled them up will all manner of living creatures, totally transforming it from the barren rock it started out as. Isn't this like what happens to a new believer? It's no mistake that Paul describes the Christian as a 'new creation'.
Life is not possible without light, and God is light. And when Jesus refers to those who believe in Him as the light of the world, He is essentially calling us His ambassadors. It is utterly amazing to me that Jesus would leave this earth and leave the task of spreading His light up to us humans. But He has. We are not on our own though, He sent the Spirit to help us; both in our relationship with Him, and in spreading the Word. What amazing confidence God has in those He has called! We are, I am, you are the light of the world. We are God's ambassadors of light sent to drive out darkness from this earth. And when the light has come, only then can life emerge.