The Light That Has Lighted the World.2

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." 

--Jesus

It is easy to forget, overlook, or, shockingly, to deny the

destructive nature of darkness. Darkness can't draw people together, it can only leave empty groping souls bumping, fearfully and angrily, into one another.

The world is reeling from the effects of darkness.  Its ultimate impact is in driving people away from each other!

Politicians polarize, terrorists terrorize, refugees flee, media manipulates, racists rant, militants foment, socialists demonize, bureaucrats botch, abortionists destroy, perverts prey, rich rule, poverty plunders.

It's also easy to forget OR hard to comprehend that there are those who love darkness and it's debilitating destruction. Wolves in sheep's clothing, mentored children of hell's ambition, vipers, snakes, deadly serpents seeking their own glory and power. 

How then should we - followers of Jesus - live in response to the darkness? Be true to the light!

"Every disciple of the Lord must be a preacher of righteousness.In the darkness each soul is alone; in the light the souls are a family. The lamp that the Lord kindles is a lamp that can will to shine, a soul that must shine. Its true relation to the spirits around it—to God and its fellows, is its light. Then only does it fully shine, when its love, which is its light, shows it to all the souls within its scope, and all those souls to each other, and so does its part to bring all together toward one." (MacDonald, see below)

On social media:
-provoke, not to insult and anger, but to love and good deeds.

At work:
--be excellent in speech, conduct, love and purity. Love the light you see in others, don't condemn the darkness.

In public:
--be honest & trustworthy. Lead, follow or get out of the way.

In private:
--live with a conscience as open & clear as the skies above. Be a tenderhearted considerate roommate, husband, wife, parent, son or daughter. Bear burdens, share blessings.

Always remember that the work of Light & Love in and through you is to draw all men to Jesus and the great family of God!

"Take heed to your light that it be such, that it so shine, that in you men may see the Father—may see your works so good, so plainly his, that they recognize his presence in you, and thank him for you.' 

MacDonald, George. Hope of the Gospel (p. 65). 

Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

The Light That Has Lighted The World.1

"I have come to be a light to the world, that whoever believes in me should not remain in darkness. 

I am the light that has lighted the world; they that follow me will never again walk in darkness, but live their lives in the light." 

--Jesus

On his first day of kindergarten, nephew Sam declared: 

"I'm Sam Eberhart. 

I'm a John Deere man 

and that's all you need to know!"

Imagine the Lord of all Creation introducing Himself to this dark world with little Sam's certainty: 

"I'm Jesus Christ. 

I am the Light, 

and that's all you need to know!"

Such perplexing times: living our lives by the light of televisions and computer screens we watch the world get darker! How easy to get caught up in the collective anxiety of the world's worries: Brexit, Market fluctuations, ISIS attacks, Presidential elections, Protests, Gun Control, Gas Prices, Milk Prices, Inflation, Deflation, Wild Weather, Wild Horses, Persecution, Human Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, Refugees, Regulations, 1%er's, Political Plunder, Political Correctness, Corruption, Racism, Phobias in all their Forms, Global Climate Change, and (if that weren't enough) Indian Nickname Change.

So however tempting it may be to try to explain the complexities of this world by this or that eschatology, doctrine or theology, the call is simple: 

believe in the Light! 

Hold on to the Man who Is the Light!

Light gives hope; 
Light gives meaning; 
Light shows the way; 
Light conquers darkness!

MacDonald:
"God means us to be jubilant in the fact that he is Light--that he is what his children, made in his image, mean when

image from creation7.com

they say light; that what in him is dark to them, is dark by excellent glory, by too much cause of jubilation; that, however dark it may be to their eyes, it is light even as they mean it, light for their eyes and souls and hearts to take in the moment they are enough of eyes, enough of souls, enough of hearts, to receive it in its very being.

Living Light, thou wilt not have me believe anything dark of thee!"

 MacDonald, George. Unspoken Sermons Series I., II., and III. 
(Kindle locations 5458-5461). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.