I visited some caverns a few years ago, and as I entered the door of the cave and moved from bright sunlight into semi-darkness, the light bulbs dangling from the ceiling seemed so weak and puny. They strained against the darkness, barely lighting our path. Soon, our tour group entered a large room deep inside the mountain. The guide instructed us to put away our cellphones and cover our watch dials. He reached toward a switch on the wall, and suddenly we were plunged into darkness, darkness so thick I felt smothered. I stared, trying to see somebody or something … anything, but I could not see anything, not even a shape. There were a few nervous giggles, but for the most part, silence. Suddenly a voice rang out: “let there be light,” and the room was flooded with light. Those bulbs that seemed so weak before now looked as bright as the sun.
My mind went back to God’s command on that first day in Genesis 1:3: “Let there be light.” A world in total darkness was suddenly illuminated with bright light. That light didn’t emanate from the sun; it hadn’t been created yet. What, then, was the source of that light?
A clue can be found in John 8:12 where the Lord Jesus makes this statement: “I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus did not mean physical light, but spiritual light. He came into a dark world, and brought light to a place of spiritual darkness. Just as the first light flooded the earth in Genesis 1, so the Lord Jesus illuminated a dark world with His light.
Why was the spiritual world so dark? Why was the Light of the World needed? The answer lies in the little word “sin.” By one man sin entered into the world” (Rom 5:12, KJV), and sin brought death upon all human beings, for all have sinned. Sin brings spiritual darkness, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot shine spiritual light into our lives if we don’t know the Light of the World, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus didn’t come just to be a bright spot in a dark world. He came to bring light into the hearts of men. To accomplish that, He had to take care of mankind’s biggest problem, sin. In the greatest demonstration of love ever shown, the Lord Jesus gave His life so that He could take away the sin of the world, and shine His light into the souls of man. Colossians 1:13-14 says, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness…..in Whom we have redemption through His blood; even the forgiveness of sins” (KJV).
Would you like to have the true light? God offers you salvation through the death of His dear Son. The Lord Jesus gave His life so you might have eternal life.
That first light spoken into existence long ago was from God. The Light that came into the world was the Son of God, and He brought light into the darkened hearts of men. Is your heart still darkened with sin? Trust the Lord Jesus Christ today, and you will have the Light of Life.
