LIGHT TRIUMPS OVER DARKNESS!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
(John 3:19)

MEDITATION:
There are many opposing extremes in the world, aren’t there?
There is hot and cold, sweet and sour, nice and mean, caring
and cruel, good and bad, etc. Let’s take a closer look at a couple
of them and see how they impact their polar opposites.

For instance, if we consider good and bad, bad usually wins out, right?
When a bad (rotten) apple is added to a basket with good apples, what
happens? The good apples start turning bad, right? However, when a
good apple is added to a basket with bad (rotten) apples, the bad apples
don’t start turning good, do they? The good apple becomes bad (rotten).

This is an excellent illustration of why we need to be careful about the
company we keep. If we are considered good and develop friendships
with others who are not, then we are more likely to become bad, than
they are in becoming good. It doesn’t mean we disassociate ourselves
from them, it just means we should not spend enough time with them
for us to pick up their thoughts, words, actions and habits.

What about darkness and light? If we introduce light into a dark room,
it pierces the darkness doesn’t it? However we can introduce as much
darkness as we want, but the darkness can never overtake and cover
the light.

So how does this relate to God’s Word? The scriptures are clear – man
loves the darkness because people enjoy doing things that are evil and
are opposed to the goodness of the light. This reveals to us that man
has a natural desire to sin, and apparently it is easier to resist doing
good than to resist temptations.

God knew that mankind would have a desire for the darkness of sin,
so He created a plan (from the beginning of time) to introduce the
‘light of Jesus’ into the world. Not everyone will come out of the
darkness to enjoy and bask in the light of the Lord, but some will.

When we use a flashlight in the in the woods at night, it will cast a
light in some areas, but there will still be dark shadows where the
light has not reached. The difference between a flashlight and the
light of the world is, Jesus reaches all of the darkness of man; no
areas are hidden from His sight.

When God’s light shines, the sinful man is exposed and has to make
a choice: accept the light and remain in it, or run from the light and
return to the darkness. We can see why the scriptures tell us that
‘man loved the darkness’. It is a place where he feels he can hide
from the light of God.

When does a criminal prefer to commit his crimes? Even though
there are many more crimes in broad daylight these days, most
criminals feel that when their evil deeds are committed at night,
they are less likely to get caught.

There is a correlation here to sinful man. Man seems to think that
if he can sin without being exposed by the ‘light of the world’ (Jesus),
then they will not get caught in their acts of sin. Sounds ludicrous
doesn’t it? And it is! In all of his cleverness, mankind cannot hide
their sins from the Lord.

Christ is being rejected by the overwhelming majority of humanity
today. And, as a result, the folks in spiritual darkness continue to
stumble blindly toward destruction, judgment, and hell. Living in
spiritual darkness creates a life of confusion, disappointment,
frustration, and fearfulness.

Conversely, living in the ‘spiritual light’ gives us a new life of order,
peace, joy, and a purpose for living, rather than just existing. When
we live in the ‘light of the Lord’, we will have a new focus and we will
discover new opportunities that are much more rewarding to us than
what the world has to offer.

All the darkness that man has created in his mind was completely
exposed when God introduced His Light (Jesus) into the world. It
should not surprise us that the ‘verdict’ mentioned in John 3:19
follows the verses which explain the reason why God’s light was
introduced to the world.
    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 they have not believed in the name
    of God’s one and only Son.
    (John 3:16-18)

The light was God’s gift to the world to emphasize His love for every
person. He didn’t introduce light to punish us and make our lives
miserable. His purpose was to offer us the opportunity to experience
a more fulfilling life and to provide us with a confidence that we will
spend an eternity in heaven.

ACTION:
Which appeals to you the most – the darkness or the light?
If it is the darkness, then how is it working out for you?
Wouldn’t you prefer to live a life in the light of Jesus, or
does Satan have such a tight grip on your life that you fail
to notice the light? Do you still have areas of darkness in
your life that need light?

Satan’s ‘basket’ is the one full of bad choices designed to make
you bad. God’s ‘basket’ is full of goodness ready to make you
good. Which choice do you make? Do you embrace the light,
or run from it to the darkness where you continue in sin?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the light of the
world to give me hope of a new and fulfilling life. Forgive me
for allowing a love for the darkness to cause me to make bad
decisions. Show me how much I have to gain by living in Your
light of the world. Teach me to live a life that will not make me
feel ashamed when I am exposed to Your Light. I need Your
strength, and the aid of the Holy Spirit in order to leave the
darkness of sin and start walking in the light of Your goodness.
Thank You for loving me enough to make Your light available
to me in spite of my love for the darkness. You are my God and
the One I praise and worship! Thank You for everything that’s
good in my life!”

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