Be The Light
"He was not the light..." — John 1:8a csb
The moon is the second largest light in the sky. The sun is the largest light in the sky. When God created the morning and evening in the Genesis account, He made one light to rule the day, and one light, the lesser, to rule the night. The lesser one is, of course, the moon! Earth's moon is really unique in all the solar system. It is unique in its size and proximity to its orbiting planet. This, of course, is by design. God made it so. It helps control the ocean tides, and it helped ancient man determine the day of the month. The interesting thing about the moon is the fact that it has no light of its own. God created our moon to be super bright, coated in gray powder. The moon is actually reflective! It reflects the light of our sun until it has completed its circuit in the sky, and we get a new moon, where Earth's shadow is blocking the light, and the process begins all over again. By the end of the month, it's a full moon, shining bright in the night sky!
John, the Gospel writer, describes John the Baptist like our moon. John is not the light. He was never meant to be the light because he could not, by himself, produce light. Jesus is the Light and Life of man (John 1:4). John's calling and mission was to testify, reflecting the light of Christ! Although the moon is brilliantly lit up at night, it will never be as great as the Sun. So too with John the Baptist. John knew that. He understood his calling and mission to reflect the light of Jesus Christ as best he could so others would be attracted to Him. Then he could point them to the true Light. When others asked John if he was the Messiah, he adamantly declared, "No!" But one day, as John was shining brightly for Jesus, Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized. When John saw Jesus, he declared, "Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
Later on in His teaching, Jesus made an interesting statement to the disciples: "You are the light of the world!" (Matthew 5:14). How could we be the light of the world? Surely, if John wasn't the light, how can we? The answer is found in John 14, where Jesus declared His Holy Spirit would dwell and live in each believer. We now carry the Light and Life within us! We are like walking lanterns in a dark world. When Jesus departed after His resurrection, He told the church to go throughout all the world doing what John was doing, testifying of Jesus, except now we have His Light in us. We aren't just to reflect the Light of God. We are to shine the Light of God in our dark world. We are called to expose the darkness and help bring those living in darkness into the light. You alone, like John, are not the light, but with the Holy Spirit living in you, upon you, and with you, you too can shine brightly for Jesus Christ right where you find yourself reading this devotion. Perhaps that's at your job. Be the light there! Maybe it's in your home. Shine for Jesus to your husband, wife, and children! If you are a believer in Jesus, be the light of your world, He has given you His!
Agape, Frank
