Imagine you have a friend named Bob who owns a home but consistently was complaining about how dark it was inside. After hearing your friend complain about this for an extended period of time, you finally go over to his house for dinner one evening. Upon arriving, you notice that all the windows in the home are shut and covered, excluding the entry of any natural light. After entering the home, you see that though there are light fixtures in the house, all the light bulbs have been removed! After some small talk (in the dark) Bob again begins complaining about the darkness in his home. At this point, you can’t take it any longer.
“Bob,” you say. “I have good news for you. I think I know how to fix your problem.”
“You do?,” Bob replies. “Please share!”
“Your problem is not the dark … it is that you have shut out all the light!,” you say. “Open the shades and replace the bulbs and the darkness will disappear!”
Of course, this story is a fiction, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
All of us tend to complain about the darkness we see around us. Broken marriages, assaults, sexual perversion, war, and on and on. 24 hour news cycles on cable news and the internet give us plenty to remind us regularly of the “dark.” But rather than spending our lives delving in the sport of self pity or cynicism, or stuck in a perpetual cycle of lament, what if there was a way to end the darkness?
You don’t end darkness by focusing on the dark … you end it by turning on the Light.
Does such a Light exist to dispel the darkness? YES!
In John 8:12, Jesus Christ says this, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The Light of Jesus is no 40 watt bulb! He is sufficient to light the world! If we are sick of the dark, we must open the shade and let THE LIGHT shine in.
Over the next 4 Sundays at Wildwood Community Church, we will be walking through the Christmas season under the theme “Light of the World.” By thinking of Jesus as THE Christmas Light, we will find hope in the midst of despair, direction in the midst of confusion, and clarity in the fog. I hope you will join us each week in this series as we look at the historical account of Jesus’ birth in this “light.”
This Sunday, we will be in part one of the series introducing this topic by looking at what Jesus’ meant in John 8:12 by stating that He was the “Light of the World.” Hope to see you in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 services … and bring friends!
To find out more about Wildwood’s Christmas plans, click here.