All Done

My wife has taught each of our three children sign language early in their lives as a way for them to communicate with us. It has made things a lot easier and less frustrating for all parties involved. My youngest son's favorite sign right now is "all done". He will tell us when he is all done playing, all done sitting, all done eating, and on and on. It is funny to see him give the sign that he is all done, but it is a necessary step as we all need to learn how to say "all done" at some point in our lives.

As a Christian and as a pastor, I am convinced that one of the hardest things for us to do as humans is to be "all done".

So many people call themselves Christian because they have decided to allow Jesus into their lives, they have established a habit of attending church, praying, and even reading the Scriptures. But, Jesus called Christians to so much more than that.

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “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

You see, if we accept the first part of Jesus statement, that He is the light of the world, than we will desire the last part of His statement, the light of life. But, in order to have this "light of life" we need to follow Jesus, who is the light of life. And, when we follow Jesus, we will not walk in darkness because Jesus will never lead us into darkness.

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth."   1 John 1:5-6

So, the key is following Jesus, and that is walking in Him, walking in His light. But, in order for us to follow Him, Jesus demands that we say "all done" to everything that is not pure, Jesus demands that we say "all done" to everything that is not holy. 

Jesus is the light of the world, but it makes no real difference to you unless He becomes the light of your world.  

Coackroaches and Light

The other night I was walking out the door toward the garage steps and flipped the light on just before walking out. As I flipped on the light my attention was immediately drawn to hundreds of large black/brown cockroaches as they scurried up and down, back and forth to find a hiding spot from the light. I have known for some time that we had a number of cockroaches in the garage and a few in the basement but never did I imagine that there were so many.

As I thought about these cockroaches and the way they scurried when the light hit them, I began to think about light as it is described in the Bible, what is light, who is light, what does light do, what does it reveal, who is drawn to the light and who is repelled by the light.

WHAT IS LIGHT

Psalm 119:105 says: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

God’s word is both a lamp and a light, it discovers things, within us, concerning God and ourselves that otherwise we could not have known.

Ephesians 5:14 reminds us that "It is light that makes everything visible."

1 John 1:5 tells us that "God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all."

He is all that illuminates truth, and perfection. He does not represent truth and perfection, He is truth and perfection. We are the ones that represent His truth and His perfection.

Hebrews 1:3 further states: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word."

Then John 1:4-5 says of Jesus: "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it."

And in John 8:12 Jesus is quoted: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."
Colossians 1:13 reminds us that: "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the Kingdom."

John 3:19 states that: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."

EVIL HATES THE LIGHT

John 3:20: "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

TRUTH CRAVES THE LIGHT

John 3:21: "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

BELIEVERS ARE LIGHT

1 John 1:7: "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin."

Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven."

Mark 4:21: "Do you bring a lamp in and put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead don’t you put it on its stand?"

Philippians 2:15 tell believers: "You shine like stars in the universe."

BELIEVERS MISSION

Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Jesus Christ, God's Holy Son: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being"

BUT, as God’s children, aren’t we called to be “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being”.

Light: the way out of the cave

Years ago my friend and I went spelunking, that is, exploring a cave. We planned it out the day before and prepared with a map in hand and two flashlights.


Once inside the cave we began to follow the bright orange arrows that pointed the way in and out of the cave. Once we reached the back of the cave we turned around and began following the arrows back to the opening of the cave (there only one in and out of this particular cave).

I would venture to say that we both felt an emptiness in our stomachs when the bright orange arrows pointed to a dead end somewhere near the middle of the cave. This realization was followed shortly by the realization that we had left the map of the cave in the car, and promptly by the failure of both flashlights.
Soon we found ourselves running into dead ends within the cave at every turn. As we pressed on we grew more tired and more frustrated. It seemed as if everything that we did resulted in us getting lost even further.

Although we knew that there was only one way in and out of this cave, we knew that we must do something or else we may grow too tired, too cold, and too hungry inside of this cave. We began to pound on the walls of the cave, listening for a hollow echo. It did not take too long before we saw a faint glimmer of light coming from the crack in one of the cave walls. Needless to say, we did not stop hammering away at that wall until we had broken through.

That crack in the wall of the cave was our hope, it was what we had been searching for. The light coming in was our salvation. Because, after we broke through we not only saw the light of the sun, we felt the warmth of the summer air, and I saw my dad coming toward the mouth of the cave with water, a rope, and a light. He was only minutes away from entering the cave to come and find us. Thankfully, we were able to find our way our before he had to locate us himself, not to mention the police and rescue workers and their helicopter.

It is much the same with us as we live here on earth. So many are searching for the Light, they are looking for their salvation from this cold, dark, weary place. So many people have been putting in so much of their energy and time looking for the "way out", looking for the "light". Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” What's more, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 that anyone that follows Him are "the light of the world."

If you are a follower of Christ it is your responsibility, your privilege, and your honor to share this light, the light that is Jesus Christ with all those around you. If you are not yet a follower of "The Light", take this glimpse of the hope and don't give up, pursue it, research it, and don't give up until you experience the light of Jesus Christ for yourself.