This past weekend, Pastor Thom and I drove to Minford, OH to the Christmas Cave which is a light display that you walk through. It tells the Bethlehem story in lighted scenes. The lights, in a dark atmosphere, away from the ordinary, everyday scenes of life, make the story come alive. There was a stark contrast between the scenes of light and the darkness behind them. It was a different kind of experience from the one you have when you are simply driving by a cool light display. We were actually participating in the scenes. We were immersed in the light. We were surrounded by the light. Our pathway was lit by the lights. Because we were “in the light” rather than just driving by the scene we stayed focused on the experience, focused on the story, focused on Christ.
You see, there is a difference between seeing the light and walking in it. I’m afraid we have grown accustomed to a kind of drive-by Christianity rather than immersion in the Kingdom of Light. What I mean by that is that I think many see a need for Jesus and recognize that He has solutions for their soul and daily life’s problems. Many would hold the Bible up as the truth and as the roadmap for life. Many would identify as Christian because they have “seen the light,” but far fewer are actually walking in the light with Jesus.
I John 1:5-7 says, “5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.
We could literally camp in these three verses for days. There is no darkness in God. Period. If you want to be in the light, you have to stick with Jesus. You can’t walk in darkness part-time and in in light part-time and enjoy fellowship with God and His people the way that is possible for you to enjoy both. I am going out on a limb here to offer additional commentary on verse 7. If we walk in the light as HE IS IN THE LIGHT, the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. I don’t think that verse just means we can have forgiveness from sin, but we can be cleansed from a desire to continue to commit that sin. We can have strongholds broken in our lives. We can be liberated from the power and presence of sin in our lives. To experience that power, know that reality, we have to strive to walk in the light with Jesus just as He walked in the light with the Heavenly Father.
One of the Messianic passages in the Old Testament about light, a passage often read at Christmastime, comes from Isaiah 9:2.
Isaiah 9:2-The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
In a very real sense, God’s people had been walking in darkness and for a long time. These words, written during the time of Isaiah, 700+ years before the time of Christ, were a time of intense spiritual darkness. They looked to mediums to try to control their future and destiny. They worshiped the pagan, false gods of the nations around them. They were perpetuating their darkness by looking for light in all the wrong places.
Searching for truth in any place away from God puts us in darkness.
Don’t seek answers and control for your life in dark places and expect for them to lead you to the light. Look to the Word of God for light. The Psalmist said, “105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. Psalm 119:105-106
When Isaiah 9:6 opens with “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light” he was describing something transformational. There was a major change on the horizon. By this point, they were enveloped in darkness and were without any hope for change, but a big shift was about to occur with the coming of Christ.
Isaiah 9:6-For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
God’s light is a holy and blessed gift. It comes to us in the form of a Son who was given, a Person who was given. Jesus, part of the Godhead, was gift-wrapped in flesh. He was placed in a virgin’s womb. He called Himself the “Light of the World.” John 8:12- “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is a promise of Scripture. You will never walk in darkness.
You know right now, in this moment, if you are walking in darkness or if you are walking in the light. Friends, the only way to have the light of life, to have light for life, the only way to come out of darkness is to follow Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6-For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
When you walk in the light with Jesus, you walk with the One who carries the weight of the world on His shoulders. The government rests on Him. Surely, He can carry you. You have a Wonderful Counselor. He is someone you can talk to and confide in. He will have compassion that will comfort and strengthen you and insight that will never steer you wrong. Only the God of the Bible claims to have created you and lived as you do. Only the God of the Bible knows what it is like to be crushed under the weight of injustice, abandoned by friends, tortured and die as a criminal even though He was innocent. He understands what you are going through.
You need the light that comes from a Mighty God. You walk with Him, and you will see Him still some storms. You walk with Him, and you will watch Him calm the seas. You stay behind Him, and you will see how He deals with your enemies. You follow Him, and you will be in awe of His power in response to your prayers.
Isaiah 9:2 one more time: Isaiah 9:2-The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Dawn signals a new day. All of the Christmas lights in the world could never be enough to create the dawn of a new day. Only Jesus can do that.
What if this Advent season we made a decision to be enveloped by the light that is Jesus? What if we decided to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, as Paul says in Ephesians 5:11? What if we embraced the title Jesus also gave to His followers when He said of us in Matthew 5:14 that we are also the light of the world, (or we’re supposed to be)?
Believer, if where you are hanging out and what you are doing doesn’t reflect light, you are in the wrong place.
Peter reminds us in I Peter 2:9 that we have been called out of darkness by God. Called out of darkness to be immersed by the light. Colossians 1:13 says God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved son.
Darkness is a domain. It is a dwelling place. That’s not where we are to hang out anymore. We have been transferred, moved out of darkness and moved over into a kingdom, the Kingdom of Light. If sin isn’t a problem to you, you are in the domain of darkness. If God’s Word isn’t the standard by which you are seeking to live, you are in the domain of darkness. If you want to call the shots for your life, you are in the domain of darkness. If you are seeking the things of the world for satisfaction and fulfillment, you are dwelling in the domain of darkness.
Even though the darkness sets in early each day this time of year, light is everywhere. Even though this world is a dark place, Jesus, the Light of the World is everywhere. Do you view Him like a drive-thru light display? Like something cool to see once in a while, something to give your attention to for a few minutes? Something to look at on a special occasion? Something to ooh and awe at as you are on your way to something else? Or will you be immersed in the light that is Christ? Seeing the light and walking in it are two very different things. Will you walk with Him and participate in the story of redemption and allow His light to shine through your life that others can see Him?
