The Light

The Sunday night message in the Gettysburg United Methodist church.  June 4, 2023.  The Bible verses used are John 1:1-18.

            “In the beginning”.  That’s the best way to start any story, right?  From the beginning.  It’s how the Bible starts to tell its story–the first chapter of Genesis starts “In the beginning”.  And, as you heard, the gospel of John echoes that.  It also starts out, “In the beginning.”

            But then they deviate.  Genesis says, “In the beginning, God created.”  It then goes on to tell all the things God created, and in what order: the heavens, the earth, the light, the water, the sky, the land, and so forth.  John, however, does not say, “In the beginning, God created.”  John says, “In the beginning was.”

What was, of course, came before what God created.  After all, if something already was, at the beginning, then it had to come before what was created.  

What John tells us was, was the Word.  “The Word”, as you may know, is a way of referring to Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ already was, before God created anything.  In fact, it was through Him that things were created.  “Without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

And then, John tells us this, “In Him”--Jesus–”was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Let’s think about that.  When we have Jesus, we have life.  Logically, then, if we do not have Jesus, we do not have life.

And you say, wait a minute.  I know people who are alive who don’t have Jesus in their lives.  And that’s probably true.  I know some, myself.  But there are a couple of things to know about that.

One is that, even for people who don’t believe in Jesus, their life still came from Him.  Again, all things were created through Jesus.  Nothing was created without Jesus.  So whether we believe in Jesus or not, our life still came from Him and through Him.

But there’s more to it than that.  The fact that we are alive is not the same as saying we have life.  The life that we have as Christians is light, the light of all mankind.  It’s a light that, as John says, shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

So what does that mean?  I mean, it sounds good and all, but what difference does it make, to say that as Christians we have the light of all mankind?

Well, here’s what I think.  When I look at the world right now, it looks pretty dark.  We have wars and possibilities of more wars.  We have lots of places where Christians are persecuted and where there is not much freedom. 

And things sometimes look dark in this country, too.  It seems like every day we hear about more violence.  We have all kinds of economic problems, with things that used to be readily available now either not there or cost more than we can afford.  Not only that, things that not long ago were considered basic Christian beliefs are under attack.  Sometimes, when we look around, it seems like the forces of darkness are advancing, if not winning.

And yet, as Christians, we have the light.  The true light.  The light of life.  It is a light that shines in the darkness.  The darkness has not overcome it.  The darkness will not overcome it.  We have that assurance, as followers of Jesus Christ.

That means at least two things for us.  The first is that, as we see the forces of darkness advancing, we should not panic.  We know that the darkness cannot win.  We have that hope, we have that assurance, from God.  The forces of darkness will only advance as far and as long as God allows them to advance.  God is stronger than any forces of darkness ever will be.  When God decides the day of the forces of darkness is over, it will be over.  It will be over very quickly.  And when it happens, the forces of darkness will be broken.  They will be shattered.  In fact, they will not even be.  The light will overcome the darkness.

Paul says this light gives light to everyone.  There is nowhere anyone can go to escape this light, because it is the light of Jesus Christ.

Think of it this way.  Imagine this room is completely dark.  Then, imagine that one single bulb is lit.  Will there be darkness anywhere in the room?  No.  All it takes is that one light, and all the darkness is gone.  That’s how it will be when God decides the day of the forces of darkness is over.  God’s light will shine, and the forces of darkness will not even exist anymore.  They will be completely gone.

As Christians, we can be completely confident of this.  We sometimes refer to this as our “Christian hope”, but understand what that means.  It’s not “hope” in the way that I hope the Vikings will win the Super Bowl someday.  This is sure and certain knowledge.  This is something we know will happen.  There’s no doubt about it.  The only questions are how far God will allow the forces of darkness to go and when God will act to overcome them.  We know God will act sometime.  The only question is when.

So does that mean everyone will see the light?  Unfortunately, no.  Everyone has the chance to see the light.  Everyone can see the light, if they choose to.  But some will not.  Some will shut their eyes to the light.  Some will deny the light exists, even when they see it.  It’s sad to think of that, but it’s true.  

So, what do we do?  Well, that’s the other thing this passage means for us as Christians.  As long as the darkness exists, it is our job, as Christians, to be the light.  We need to let the light of Christ shine through us.  And by doing that, we can show others the way to Christ.

Now understand, it’s not our light that shines.  Our own lights are not strong enough to lead anyone anywhere, or at least not anywhere good.  And too often, that’s the mistake we make.  We make it, sometimes, with the best of intentions, but we still make it.  

What can happen to us is that we get out ahead of God.  We think we know best.  We think we know what needs to be done.  And so, we start trying to force things.  We start trying to make things happen with our own light, rather than waiting for God to shine the light of Christ.  Again, we may do that with the best of intentions, but we still do it.  And when we do, things don’t usually go very well.

Our own light is pretty weak.  Following it, we tend to get lost.  It’s only by following the light of Christ that we can lead others to Christ.

So, then, how do we let the light of Christ shine through us?  By doing what Jesus told us to do.  Stay faithful to God.  Serve God.  Show love to God.  Show love to others. 

It sounds simple.  And it is simple.  But while it’s simple, it’s not easy.  Because the darkness does its best to put out the light.  The darkness does everything it can, in every way it can, to put out the light.

Now, it cannot fully succeed.  Again, the light of Christ will overcome the darkness.  But the forces of darkness will keep trying.  And their efforts can make it hard for us to stay faithful to God and let the light of Christ shine through us.

That happens in lots of ways.  We’re told that, if we stay faithful to God, we’re out of step with society.  We’re told that our ideas are old-fashioned.  We’re told that times have changed, and we have to change with them.  We’re told that the traditional Christian beliefs, that some things are right and that others are wrong and sinful, that those ideas are bigoted and hateful.  We’re told that we need to be more tolerant, that we need to be more accepting of the way others live.  We’re told that God is love, so we need to show love to everyone, and the only way we can show love to everyone is to say that the things they say and do are okay, even if those things violate what we’ve read in the Bible.  In fact, we’re told that what the Bible says about a lot of things does not apply, that those things have been misinterpreted or need to be modified by modern thought.

The forces of darkness are persistent, and they can be persuasive.  When we hear those things, and when we hear them repeatedly, over and over and over, it’s easy to let it start to sink in.  We start to think, well, maybe that’s right.  Maybe we do have to change with the times.  After all, no one wants to be thought of as intolerant.  No one especially wants to be thought of as a bigot or a hater.  We want to show love to people.  It can be tempting to let those messages persuade us.

We need to resist that.  And the way to resist it is by staying close to Christ.  To do the things we’ve talked about many times.  To pray.  To read the Bible.  To study the Bible.  To know what God’s Word actually says, as opposed to what somebody claims it says.  And to trust that God’s Word is true, even if it’s not popular right now.  

Remember, Jesus said He is the truth.  And the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Times may change, but the Lord does not change.  The words of Christ do not change.  And so, if we want God’s light to shine through us, we need to hold onto those words and that truth.  And we need to make sure people know, both by our actions and by our words, that we are holding onto those words and that truth.  That’s the only way people will see God’s light shining through us.

The world may be growing darker.  But you and I need to show the world God’s light.  It’s a light that the darkness has not overcome.  And it never will.