ESOCS Devotional 22 December 2021
TEXT: JOHN 8:12-30
MEMORY VERSE:
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12 KJV).
Have you ever awakened in the night and because it was so dark you stumbled on something you could not see? You stumbled because there was no light. That is Jesus’ point. Those who do not come to Jesus and follow Him are in spiritual darkness and they do not understand what He is talking about. They are clueless, stumbling in spiritual darkness. Light cannot be anything other than what it is. It’s bright; it dispels darkness; it enables people to see what they are doing.
When we come to the end of our text, we see the response of many people in verse 30: “As he was saying these things, many believed in him.” This is good news because Jesus had said in verse 24, “For if ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins.” So here, we have a picture of people passing from death to life. They will not die in their sins. They will be forgiven. Their sins will not be held against them. And when they die, they will go where Jesus has gone — to the Father — unlike the unrepentant, as Jesus says in verse 21, “Whither I go, ye cannot come.” And so, these believers will live in everlasting light.
Following Jesus is more than tagging along behind Him. It means following Him for who He is, being so taken with Him that you join yourself to Him. The life Jesus has and the life He shares with those who follow Him give them light. That is, we are dead and blind to the light until the life of Jesus is imparted to us by God’s Spirit, and then we see. The eyes of our hearts are opened, and divine light streams into our living spirits. And thus, we have the light of life.
Jesus told His followers, “Let your light so shine before men,” calling them to live an active faith, not a passive one. Put your light on its stand.
God is light, and since He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside believers, so are we. As His ambassadors on earth, we shine even when we don’t know it. And so, it is with you and me: We see Him and receive Him as the light of the world now. Or we die in our sins and see it only when it is too late.
- In what ways can you show Jesus as the light of the world?
- Lord, help me to see your light in life and grant me grace to live as your light.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Matthew 5: 14 – 16; John 3: 19 – 21
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ESOCS Devotional 22 December 2021
