Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

Darkness engulfs the world—spiritual darkness. Apart from God, His image bearers walk around blind, unable to see the glory of God that fills all the earth (Is 6:3). A picturesque sunset might tantalize the faint echo of God, but there is simply too much evil for such occasional glimpses to reside for any length of time. The connectedness with their Maker is a distant hope, hidden by layers of superficial satisfactions that don’t really bring peace or purpose to a person.

But when Jesus came, brilliance broke onto the scene. The apostle John in his preamble to his biography of Jesus wrote: “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9). He is the solution to the darkness of our souls that Jeremiah wrote about long before: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). Jesus came as the light of the world. “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power …” (Heb 1:3). How good is that?!

However, there is a problem. Light demands a response, and the response is somewhat checkered; the assessment of Jeremiah is a formidable obstacle:

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19–21)

Just like in the creation account—when the creation of light divided the day from the night, the light from the dark (Gen 1:3-4)—so also Christ came as the light to separate out those who love the light from those who do not.

Praise God, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ “were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light” (Eph 5:8). Because He is the Light of the World, we as God’s children now also become lights to those around us, pointing the way to the Light of the World” who has enabled us to see more clearly His glory in all the earth.

Lord, I once was blind but now I see (John 9:25). Thank You a thousand times!