Genesis 1:4
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
I flew with a former pastor the other day. I had heard of him before. He was a great teacher. He had a large 600 member church, and travelled around the world teaching the Bible. After a handshake and back slap he proudly declared to me that he no longer believed in the Bible, nor God…. it shook me to the soul. He said he was studying what happened to the 400 years of silence (between the last chapter of the old testament and the first chapter of the book of Matthew). He said a lot of the Persian culture and way of thought went into the New Testament, so he didn’t believe any thing anymore.
Recently it has been revealed that Daniel, the Israelite, probably influenced heavily the Persian culture. What was a stumbling block to the ex-pastor was to me a great revelation. Daniel’s, Shadrach’s, Meshach’s and Abednego’s teaching and influence affected the whole Persian culture. It lasted for over half of a millennium. What a legacy! Light prevailed. They were captives, and they revolutionized the world.
One of the ex-pastor’s excuses for not believing was that the Persians worshipped light. I do too, God is light. We are light if we have God in us. Even in the beginning God created light and darkness.
Light and darkness cannot co-exist. Darkness does not feel comfortable with light and light makes darkness flee. When I asked the ex-pastor, “Well, whatabout Jesus?” He said “What about him?” The ex-pastor and I soon ran out of things to say. We were incompatible.
It reminded me of Billy Graham’s crisis of faith. He followed an evangelist named Templeton. Like the guy on the plane, one day Templeton woke up and said, I don’t believe anymore. Billy Graham was shaken, and went into thewoods. Billy Graham decided to continue to believe, and Templeton went on to become a billionaire. On his deathbed, a reporter asked Templeton, “Do you miss Christianity?” He said “No, not at all.” Then the question came, “Do you miss Jesus?” With a tear in his eye Templeton replied, “Yes, I miss Jesus.”
1 John 1:4-6
We write these things so that our joy may be complete. And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in thedarkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
John called himself ‘the apostle that Jesus loved’. He knew who he was in Jesus. He knew what the true light of God was and was enthralled by it. At thelast supper of our Lord, John laid with his head against Jesus’ chest. He probably could hear His Lord’s heartbeat. John also was heavily influenced by the Persian culture of the time, because that’s when he lived.
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
We are light. We have the light in us, and we shouldn’t keep it under a bushel but let it shine from the top of the hill so all can see. We don’t have to change other people. We just have to shine. When we walk into a room, people notice. We don’t have to say anything. When we say something wrong, unbelievers correct us. They that live in the darkness love the light, although they will never admit it. They know it will change them, but they can never change us. After we have experienced the beauty and light of God, our only goal is that others live in it’s beauty and light as well.
When we have the light in us, we will have a heart for the lost. Jesus words ‘I was hungry and you fed me, I was sick and in prison and you visited me’ would no longer sound like an forbidding chore. Now our enlightened hearts will resonate within us for that thrilling opportunity to share Jesus light with others.
Jesus said ‘We are the light of the world!’ Let us be light to everyone we come into contact with tomorrow!
To God be all the glory
Dean