“The Lord is the Light of my salvation, whom shall I fear.”
– Psalm 27:1
In the dead of night, when someone turns on the light, we
recoil with agitation and pull the covers up over our head. We try to restore
darkness as quickly as possible, because the light is so offensive. The sudden
brilliance hurts our eyes. Sinful mankind loves darkness
instead of light, simply because their deeds are evil (John
3:19). Everyone
who commits evil deeds does them under the cover of darkness (Acts
17:11). They
hate the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will
be exposed. Everything exposed by the light becomes visible for everyone to see
(Ephesians
5:13).
In this same way, because of Christ within us, the light in
our life offends those who choose to live in darkness (John 1:9). Jesus came into the world to bring us out of darkness and
into the light. Therefore, all those who will put their trust in Christ no
longer remains in darkness, because His light shines in our dark, sad, lonely
world (John 12:46). His light leads us to eternal life (John 8:12). God calls us to live with wisdom and to be very careful to make the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil (Ephesians
5:13-16). Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, because we
plainly see what Jesus has done for us (John
3:19-21).
God makes His children lights in the world. He places us
like a city on a hill so that everyone can see the light of Christ within us (2 Corinthians 4:6). If we hide our light, we thwart His
purpose in the earth, because He created us to give light.
Therefore, let us shine our light before the world, so they may see the good
deeds that we do and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5: 14-16). God made us a royal priesthood and
a holy people. God’s very own possession. He called us out of the darkness into
His wonderful light; so that those who live in the land where death casts its
shadow can see the goodness of God (1 Peter 2:8-9;
Matthew 4:16). God’s
Word is a lamp for our feet, and lights up our path (Psalm 119:105).
God is light, and in Him
dwells no darkness at all. If we live a sinful life, we cannot claim to have
fellowship with God, because He has no tolerance for sin. If we seek holiness
and walk in God’s light, then we do have continual fellowship with Him and with
one another. The blood of the Lamb pays the debt of our sin and purifies us
from all desire to sin (1 John 1: 5-7). We live a
life of praise to the Father, because He qualified us to share in Christ’s
inheritance with all the Saints in His Kingdom, to share in His redemption and also
His forgiveness of our sins (Colossians
1:12-14). Even the simple can understand God’s teaching,
because His Word gives the light of understanding to them (Psalm 119:130).
Prayer:
Lord, since You are the light of our salvation, we have no
need to fear anyone or anything. You are our fortress and You protect us from
all danger (Psalm 27:1). You are
the foundation of our life and the light by which we see truth (Psalm 36:9). Thank You that, even in this sinful
world, Your light dawns for those who walk in Your righteousness, for those who are gracious and compassionate and
live a holy life (Psalm 112:4)
Thought
for the Day:
“Send out your light and your truth; let them
guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.”
– Psalm 43:3
