‘I am the light of the world…’ (John 8:12)
Have you ever been in a room, or indeed anywhere, where it is so dark that you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. When I left school and joined the Merchant Navy, before going to sea I had to do a Fire Fighting Course at Macdonald Road Fire Station in Leith and in one exercise we had to enter a replica engine room, with no power or lighting and filled with smoke. It was terrifying. We were of course under supervision and being watched at all times, but having to feel your way forward, inch by inch, using the backs of your hands because you couldn’t see a thing. It’s an experience I will never forget.
In such darkness it only takes one small light to suddenly make a difference. Your visibility may not improve all that significantly, however, something in that small light lifts your spirits and calms your fears, and suddenly you feel so much better. You now feel you can move forward with whatever you are doing.
In this passage where we find this next ‘I Am…’ saying of Jesus, our Lord isn’t just saying that he can light up a room or any other enclosed space. He isn’t even saying that He could light up one community or one town. He is the Light of the World. However, Jesus wasn’t thinking here of the kind of light that we might think of.
All too often darkness is associated with fear and with bad things. But with Jesus in our life nothing is ever as dark as it first might seem. Our Lord brings light into our lives as nothing or no-one else can. He is the very embodiment of light – of all that is good and true – and no matter how dark a situation we might find ourselves in, His light will always be there for us. A light to follow as we navigate our way through the darkness and a beacon of hope as we look to the future, and how we need that light in our lives today. So look to Jesus, allow His light to shine in your heart and follow that light every day. But more than that allow it to shine in you that others may also come to know the light of the World for themselves.
Lord, we give You thanks that through Your Son You are always there for us. Even in our darkest days You are there to shine in that darkness. Help us we pray to follow that light as best we can, in Jesus name. Amen.