Wednesday, October 21
This promise of Jesus in John 8:12 still stands today. He is the light of the world, the only true source of life, truth and joy you will find. London during the Great Smog of 1952 is the perfect analogy for our world, full of darkness and barely breathable air, and every day, we add to that pollution, driving us further from God and His saving love. But Jesus promises that when we follow Him, we begin to breathe freely for the first time. His light cuts through the darkness, and we can finally see clearly. What does this mean for us? How do we know if we’re really walking in the light?
First, We see people through His eyes. When I was little, I used to sleepwalk from time to time. One night, I had a dream in which I found a rock in the house, and wanted to throw it outside. I walked to the back door, but for some reason, the door wouldn’t open. Meanwhile, my dad woke up from a dead sleep to hear the click-click of someone trying to open his back door. He sat up in bed, and saw a shadowy figure standing there. Let’s just say I’m very glad my dad isn’t one of those people who sleeps with a loaded gun by his bed!
Here’s the moral of that story: When we can’t see people clearly, we tend to hurt them. If the same incident had happened in the daytime, it wouldn’t have scared anyone.
Spiritual darkness works the same way. When Carrie and I first got married, we had a hard time getting along. Our problem was that we didn’t understand each other. I didn’t even try to learn her needs, dreams and desires. Instead, I focused on all the ways she wasn’t living up to my expectations, and she did the same with me. We were looking at each other, but we didn’t truly see each other. We didn’t see a person who had needs that we had vowed to fulfill; all we saw was an obstacle to our happiness. Before we could fix the problems in our marriage, we had to open our eyes and really see each other.
In my time in the ministry, I have seen countless conflicts between family members, church members, co-workers and neighbors. In almost all of those conflicts, if just one of the parties involved had made an effort to see the other person’s perspective, the whole thing would have been solved. Heartache would have turned to friendship. Churches wouldn’t have split. Families would have been saved. But when we’re stumbling in the darkness, we see other people as a threat. We don’t take the time to understand them. Zooming out further, I think that’s the reason for the polarization and division in our culture today. We don’t see each other as fellow children of God. We see each other as threats: I’m red, you’re blue. I’m on the side of the angels; you’re an enemy of the people.
Jesus is the answer. As 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Fellowship with other people starts by walking in the light of Jesus Christ. We Christians must lead the way. We have to be ones who step up and say, “I will see you as a child of God, who my Savior loves, even though you don’t make an attempt to understand me. I won’t call you my enemy. I will call you my brother or sister who needs to come home.” That only happens when we follow the Light of the World.
“Heavenly Father, please awaken me to the conflicts in my life, and enable me to see that other person through your eyes. Grant me the humility to put aside my complaints and treat them the way you have always treated me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
