THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Our Lord Jesus Christ declares in John 8 verse 12, ''I am the light of the world, He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.''  What this simply means is that a Christless world is a world of spiritual darkness and those who do not know Christ are groping in spiritual darkness.  I make bold to assert that all alternative lights to Jesus Christ are mere variants of various forms of darkness, they are mere adventures in deception.

1. Without Christ, humans would not know their origin, that is, humans would not know where they came from.  The Lord confirms this when He states in Revelation 1 verse 8, ''I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,'' says the Lord, ''who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.''

2. Without Christ, humans would not know where they are going.  This is because He is not only the Beginning but also the End.  He is not only the Alpha, He is also the Omega.  He is not only the First, He is also the Last.

3. Without Christ, humans would not know what God is saying.  The bible says in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2, 'GOD, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.'  Any word that does not come through Jesus Christ is not the Word of God and could not have come from God.


Some people could say : Well, we do not need Jesus, we have science.  The fact, however, is that the limitations of science are fairly obvious:

1.  Firstly, science does not go beyond the level of the mind.  Science is when humans use their minds to explore the works of Creation.  We should not forget that the mind is a mere subset of the human soul.  Nevertheless, we still thank God for the achievements of science.

2. Secondly, science does not create, it only explores and discovers what had already been created.  For instance, science can discover a new planet even though it did not create the planet.

3. Thirdly, science has no solution to spiritual problems.  It is simply because the realm of the soul is below the realm of the spirit.


Also, it is interesting to note that the Lord Jesus Christ describes His followers and friends as the light of the world.  In Matthew 5 verse 14, the Lord states, ''You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.''  This simply means that what He is to the world is what we (His followers) are in the world.  It also means that with Christ in us, we can shine the light of God into the darkness of the world.


In Genesis 1 verses 16, 17 and 18, we read, 'Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.  He made the stars also.  God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good.

A. Giving Light On The Earth:As spiritual lights, Christians are supposed to be able to show the way in any situation on this earth.  This is because they possess the light of the Word of God.  For example, from the Word they know that righteousness exalts a nation but that sin is a reproach to any nation.  Nothing can stand up to this spiritual truism.

B. Ruling Over The Day And Over The Night:
Christians, as lights, are supposed to know what to do to ensure that godliness and goodness reign in society.  They are also supposed to know what to do to exterminate evil.  However, knowing what to do is one thing but actually doing it is another thing.

C. Dividing The Light From The Darkness:
As lights, Christians must be able to divide the light from the darkness.  For example, in the past, those who were in the forefront of abolishing child sacrifice to pagan gods were Christians.  This was an instance of dividing the light from the darkness.