THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
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In His teaching, Jesus did not ignore the reality of darkness and dark times in our lives in this world. In His own life, He experienced darkness.
He knew what it was like to be tired, hungry, afraid, angry, heartbroken, and overwhelmed. He tasted many of our most urgent and anxious human experiences.
The darkness did not extinguish or overcome His light, but at times, it was difficult to see. When we face our darkness and our dark times, we can remember that Jesus, the light of the world, has already been there. Sometimes, the darkness seems even harder to pierce when we have just stepped out of the light. One of the effects of the light we have been given is that much of the surrounding darkness looks darker still. But we know that the light of the world has been here, and the darkness is that much thinner for the lingering of that light.
We no longer need to be afraid of the dark because when following Jesus, we have light. Jesus might even have been referencing that favorite psalm, drawing out the power of light to overcome the deepest darkness: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). Jesus did not promise that we would avoid dark times or would be able to bypass all the dark valleys. The darkness is real, often painfully so, but we need not be afraid. We can make it through, never completely lost in the darkness, never completely alone, when we walk with His light. He is the light of the world; He wants to be the light of our lives.
