The Light of the World.
This is the second of the ‘I am’ sayings of Christ.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
Here, Jesus uses a physical action to demonstrate a physical truth. He gives sight to a blind man to show that he is the one who brings light to the world (John 9: 1-7). Jesus is also telling us that he is the spiritual “light of the world” and apart from him, the world is full with darkness of sin, ignorance and aimlessness. He is claiming here that there is no deliverance from the blackness of sin unless we believe in Him; there is no guidance along the way of life, no knowledge as to the real meaning of life and the issues of eternity because He is the only light of the world. To have the light of life, follow Jesus Christ, repenting from sin and believing in Him as Lord and Saviour and He will deliver you from the darkness.
Jesus refers to Himself as the light giver to those who are under darkness of sin because he is the light of the world sent by his Father (John 8:18). In other words, he is aware of his deity and claimed this by saying:
“I am the light of the word” (John 8:12)…“ I know where I came from and where I am going.”(John 8:14b).
At times it can feel as if our world is a very dark place. When we look around us and see death and destruction, its easy to feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I expect this is how many of those people in the Lebanon feel right now – despair and darkness. Yet, through belief in Christ, we know that He shines His glorious light into our midst, tells us not to be afraid, to take His hand and to follow Him.
Therefore, those who believe in and follow Jesus only can have clear guidance, direction in life and bright hope in the midst of darkness in this world.
Believe in Christ today. Let Him take your hand out of the darkness into His light, which shines eternally.