The Light of the World

The Gospel of John in the Bible shows Jesus as the LIght of the world.  The world needs Light to sustain life.  

“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” (John 1:4-5).  The world is a dark, broken, hopeless place withut Light.   The greatest hope for mankind is Jesus coming to this earth.  Every person has a choice to receive Light or remain in darkness.  

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (John 1:6-9).  Physical sight is only possible with light.  Seeing cannot happen without light.  Discerning and believing truth is only possible with the Light.  True spirituality cannot happen without the Light.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But 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”  (John 3:16-21).

If you’ve been in church and/ or hung around people of Christian faith for any length of time, you’ve at least heard the John 3:16 verse quoted.  So let’s shed some more Light on the context of that verse as quoted above.  Believing in Jesus (the Light) is what saves our soul from eternal damnation. Our belief in Jesus is also something that grows.  It begins with a conversion experience, and then continues to bring more and more of our fears and evil deeds into the Light.  We need the Light every day of our lives.  We need Jesus to shine his Light into the still-darkened parts of our heart.  Our heart is like a house with many rooms.  Inviting Jesus into our heart brings Light into the first room he enters.  As time moves along, we open more doors (leading to darkened rooms) for him to enlighten.  As more lights go on in the rooms of our heart, more darkness flees, and we reep more benefits of living in the Light.  This is a journey of surrender.  We surrender our right to keep doors closed to hide dark rooms, and allow Jesus to open the doors and turn on the Light.  Practically, this means surrendering bad things we say and do, bad habits, bitterness towards people, and long-standing beliefs not based on truth.  It may even mean surrendering good things that are keeping you from God’s best.  Good works do not chase away darkness.  Only the Light conquers the dark.  

“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).  Not only did John and others witness Jesus as the LIght, but Jesus himself declared it.  Following Jesus is the only way to avoid darkness in this world.  Is your soul longing to cast off the darkness of this world?  Are you willing to let Jesus turn the lights on for you?  

“Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."  "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.  It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light" (John 11:7-10).  Jesus did not condemn those who disagreed or even tried to kill him.  He simply saw them as people stumbling in their darkness.  

“Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.  Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.   Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.  This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"  For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:   "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn - and I would heal them."  Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.  Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.  When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:35-46).   Light brings health.  Light recovers wholeness.  Light restores relationship with Father God.  The words in this paragraph are quoted closer to the end of Christ’s life and ministry.  Jesus again draws attention to revealing Father’s Love through Light.  Jesus proved himself as a trustworthy source of Light.  Yet many rejected this Light, and still many do today.

Except for John 5:35 and John 9:5, I quoted all the verses in John that mention the word “light” (at least according to the NIV translation of the Bible). John testifies to the Light, and the Light testifies to the Father.   My prayer is that Jesus becomes a greater source of Light in your life.  No matter how close or far you feel from God, the Light of Jesus Christ shines for you to find your way to Father’s Love.

 by Ed Hersh, BnB Healing Ministry

Finding Yourself

Is “finding yourself”a humanistic idea? At one time in my life I was so overly concerned about slipping into humanism, that I think I lost my humanity, and the ability to recognize humanity in others. How can this happen? A little later, I'll address a fear that touches us all.

Humanism can be thought of as putting mankind at the center of the universe, or from an individual perspective, self-centered thinking. Humanism says that, God or anything outside of the human himself, is not needed to become a better human. I believe the opposite is true. Acknowledging a need for God is the first and most important way to become a better human. The original Designer and Creator of mankind knows best how his creation "ticks." In order for a builder to build a house, he must first have a detailed drawing (schematic) to work from. If a problem is encountered in the construction, or if repairs are needed after living in the house for some time, the original schematic is helpful to diagnose the problem. So it is with the human body, mind, soul, and spirit. We are complex beings that need a lot of help when it comes to growth and development. To be aware of our humanness does not automatically make us a humanist, but is in fact necessary to find true meaning in life.

I think much of the fear of becoming too humanistic is in reality, a fear of exposing something in your humanity that you won't know what to do with. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, "'Know thyself?' If I knew myself, I'd run away." It is normal to feel a bit apprehensive about exploring unknown areas of your personality or allowing yourself to experience God in a way you haven't before. But facing this kind of fear is necessary for personal and spiritual growth. In order to change for the good (better yourself), you must allow yourself to engage new thoughts and ideas.

Jesus introduced a new idea when he summarized the ten commandments into two by declaring,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” First of all, awareness and surrender of heart, soul, and mind to God is most fundamental for discovering true humanity. Then, when you place God at the center of your being, you can accept who he made you to be so that you can “love your neighbor as yourself.” That is how you find yourself. The is the divine design for humans to express their humanity. We fulfill the commandments not by focusing on them, but by focusing on God (receiving His love) and focusing on sharing His love inside you with others (giving His love away).

Techniques of self-help, personal growth, and mindfulness are all secondary to the power of God driving positive change in a person's life. To be in touch with true humanity requires humility. Humility is most important of virtues. True humility presumes God-centered thinking and actions. When our deepest passions and motivations are submitted to God in humility, our actions will always produce good results. When God's love is completed in mankind, commandments aren't even needed!

Finding yourself, or finding your identity (who you are) and destiny (purpose for being) as a human, is what gives you meaning in life. And this meaning is found by relating to the God who designed a unique "blue print" for every human being created on earth, you and I included. The Psalmist explained, " For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13-16).

So when someone says something like, "You'll find yourself by looking within," they are correct, as long as we acknowledge God as the supreme authority. If we're looking within to find the person God made us to be, we are on the right path. If we're looking within, without the presupposition that God is the source and revealer of all truth, whatever we find will be deficient of God's intentions for our being. He gives us the choice. By choosing Him, we can find out who we really are. By rejecting him, we forfeit the discovery of our true self.

This is not a one time decision. It is a process of allowing our humanity (fleshly being) become more and more influenced by our spirit being. This happens by the God's Spirit breathing a rebirthing within our being. Jesus described it like this to a religious man, "truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ... unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:3-8). As our relationship with God grows on our life journey, more and more of our identity and purpose is birthed into being. It matters not who we are, how well we think we know God, or how much (or little) we know about God, We are all in the same condition. We must surrender to God (on a daily basis) those parts of our heart not yet surrendered to be reborn by his Spirit.

Finding God is the key to finding yourself. Then,

loving what you find,

is the key to,

living well in mind.

It is certainly God's desire that you seek, find, and choose Him. My prayer too, is that wherever you are in your journey, the light of His love overwhelms any darkness trying to keep more of you from being found.

Note: The book Escaping the Pain of Offense: Empowered to Forgive from the Heart discusses themes of dealing with disappointments, offense and finding freedom in forgiveness. This book is designed to help people (especially in the Christian faith) to discover and dislodge things in life that lead to defeat. Don't miss out on your chance to use this book as a helpful tool in discovering Refuge in Christ. It can be purchased by clicking here: http://bluerockbnb.com/healing/book_main.htm .

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry