LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS
By: Russ Jackson
Matthew 5:14-16 English Standard Version (ESV)
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
This past Sunday Barry spoke about this passage declaring the words of Jesus that indeed we are the light of the world. This light is not our light, but the reflected light from Jesus, who came to save the world.
The people that lived in the time that Jesus spoke these words would have immediately understood the concept. When the sun set on their day, the world became very dark. They didn’t have street lamps, headlights or porch lights to illuminate their way. Travelling after sunset was a difficult and often dangerous task. If you have ever been far away from civilization perhaps you have experienced this all pervasive darkness.
Here are some facts about Light and Darkness that may help you understand some of what Jesus was expressing:
Light is able to overcome darkness. Even a small amount of light can illuminate an area so that we can see our surroundings.
There is no darkness so dark that light cannot illuminate.
There is no such thing as darkness, really. Man cannot turn a switch and make a sunlit day into a dark day. Man cannot create darkness. Darkness is only the absence of light. Let that sink in for a moment.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 (ESV).
Darkness cannot overcome light! It’s a fact!
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” Luke 11:33-36 (ESV)
If the light of Jesus lives in you, then darkness cannot overcome you and your light will shine before people and give glory to your Father.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17
Yay God!
