Walk in the Light

(John 8:12)

Light! The concept of light is used in many places throughout the Bible. Its application is used in several different ways to explain different teachings. When you think about the properties of light it gives you an insight into what the Lord is teaching us.

Light enables us to see, whereas in darkness we cannot see so we will stumble around, blinded by the lack of light. Natural light is also necessary for the maintenance of good health. From sunlight we get vitamin D which is an essential vitamin for our proper growth and various functions of the body.

The light as described in the Bible is good for us too so let us have a look at some scriptures and build on this verse in John 8:12 that says, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Let there be Light

Let’s go all the way back to the very beginning. In Genesis 1:3 we see that the very first part of the Creation on Day 1 was the creation of light. Who has not heard someone say those very first words spoken over the Creation that said, “Let there be light; and there was light.”

But these words need more investigation for this light is not what it seems. If you look at Genesis 1, you discover that the sun, moon and stars, which are the sources of light as we know it, were not created until the fourth day of Creation. So this light mentioned on Day 1 was not what we see in the optical spectrum.

When you continue to read the Creation account on Day 1 it becomes clear what the light is that was being spoken of. Verse 4 says that, “And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” So this light was good and it was separated from the darkness.

Throughout the bible darkness is represented as evil, ignorance, sin and the things or works of the devil. Light is seen to be representative of knowledge, insight, truth, goodness and those things that are the works of God and Jesus Christ. It is clear that these two have no part of each other.

You cannot have evil where there is light and vice versa. This shatters completely things such as the eastern philosophy of Yin and Yan which says that in all light there is some darkness and vice versa. In God’s Creation this is a falsehood and should not be accepted for what is says is that within the light, what is good, holy, true and so on, there is some pollution of darkness or evil. Reject any such sayings for they are false. Where there is darkness there is no light. Darkness is the absence of light. So too evil is the absence of goodness, right and truth.

I am the Light

In the scripture we are looking at in John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Just as light provides the ability to see, so too Jesus gives us the true light, which is the knowledge of the truth of God. In this world man lives in darkness. It is a darkness for lack of knowledge, lack of the truth and lack of the presence of God in their life.

But when a person turns to Jesus, the true light of His knowledge and the truth takes away the darkness of ignorance. When we come to Jesus he gives us a light of knowledge to understand the ways of God and to learn His ways.

Their was light in the law of God for it contains great wisdom and knowledge, but even that light is dim in comparison to the light of Jesus Christ. Consider the verses in 2 Corinthians 3:15-16.

15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds;
16 but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed.

The law promised good things to the adherents of the law, but it placed a veil over the minds of the people who were under it. Their minds were still darkened to the truth of God because many who followed the law did so on the grounds of works rather than faith. Some found the way, but most did not.

But when a person comes to Jesus Christ that veil which dims and fogs the light of the truth is removed. Jesus restores our full sight to be able to see the true light of God that shines through Jesus under the New Covenant.

Walking in the Light

Then we see back in John 8:12 that Jesus says, “…he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

When we follow Jesus, He leads us in the light. When we follow Jesus we walk in the light cast from Him to bring us into ALL knowledge of the truth so as to find the ways of God. When we walk in the light we can clearly see where we are going so that we do not stumble and fall. Instead we stand and come to the source of ALL light through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We cannot walk in the light without following Jesus. Just as Jesus showed in John 15:5 saying, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Unless we abide in Jesus and work with Him and He in us, we cannot walk in the light. Just as a branch withers and dies when it is cut off from the root plant, so too we will stumble and fall if we step away from the light and are plunged into darkness.

Thus we are called to “follow” him. We do not run ahead or we go into darkness and we do not stop or the darkness overtakes us. Jesus told us as much in John 12:35-36.

35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them.

So listen to His words and walk in the light. Look to him and He will give you light so that the darkness does not get a foothold in your life.

(Photo sourced from stock.xchng taken by Penny Mathews)

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John

Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.