Friday, December 21; Light of Life
Light of Life
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4-5 NIV)
In July 2013, there was a huge rainstorm in Mississauga. 80% of the homes in Mississauga lost their electricity. Luke and I were on the way to a movie theatre. When we reached there, we found out that the movie theatre was also out of power.
Luke and I had to go to the washroom. The movie theatre was in shopping mall. We had to go through a long dark passage way to get to the men’s washroom. Fortunately, I had a mobile telephone. I used the flashlight in it to shine the light through the darkness. It was the first time I used the flashlight of mobile telephone intentionally as mobile telephones were a new thing to me at that time (and still are).
While we were on the way out in the long dark passage, there were some people who also needed to get to the washroom. We told them that it was at the end of the long passage and that they should use their mobile telephones to shine the light in the darkness. That passageway was long and dark. As we used the flashlight in our mobile telephones, we could see that the light from our mobile telephones truly helped us find our way through the darkness.
As John begins his Gospel, he is clear about the identity of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word who was with God in the beginning. The Word, Jesus, is and was God (John 1:1). This Word created all things (John 1:2). What is the purpose of this Word in our lives? This Word is life and that life is the light of all humanity (John 1:3). John declares that the light which Jesus gives to us is the life we need. Without Jesus’ light, we would be a lost people. Without Jesus’ light, we would be dead spiritually.
Before that episode in the shopping mall, I was reluctant to use the flashlight app on my mobile telephone as I was still nervous about using mobile telephones. However, being in the long dark passageway quickly changed my attitude. Having Luke with me also helped. As you know, his generation has no fear whatsoever about using new technology.
Sometimes God puts us in dark situations so that Jesus’ light becomes more prominent. Sometimes the darkness we face seems to overwhelm Jesus’ light in our lives. However, John in the first part of his Gospel, is adamant about the potency of Jesus’ light in our lives. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5 NIV)
Pastor Pye