LIVING IN THE LIGHT

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of Your judgments, Lord. For You, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.

Psalm 97:8-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Bible spends a significant amount of time talking about light and specifically, light defined as living righteously. Those who are obedient to God’s will and way, striving to live like Jesus did, are said to be walking in the light. Consider the following passage:

God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Think about the sins of the world and consider whether a majority of them are planned and/or carried out in the light or in the dark. There a reason why we have adopted phrases like “the steamy underside” or talking about “turning over and looking under rocks” in reference to looking for and finding evil scheming or concealed actions by others. Whether on the seamy underside or under a rock, one is out of the light and exercising behavior in the dark. Those who love the Lord, as the final verses in the 97th Psalm proclaim, hate evil. In other words, if you truly love the Lord then you walk in His light because to do otherwise would be choosing darkness and the evil sin the Lord despises so very much.

Truly, we’re to be a people who live in the light. And we should want to because there we receive more than just light when we are. We also receive joy. Look at these words from the psalm:

Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.

When we walk in the light of the Lord, His radiance shines upon us and we are brought to a place of spiritual bliss, a bliss that leads us to rejoice and be glad in the One who saves us and leads us along the pathways of righteousness. Truly, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled just as Jesus promised (Matthew 5:6) and when we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we are drawn to praise and thanksgiving and blessedness as we live as Christ lived and bask in the Father’s pleasure and favor.

The scriptures also have this to say about living in the light:

Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light. John 12:36

We walk in the light of the Lord because we believe and trust in the promises of the scripture which promise that we will be cleansed from sin if we remain in righteousness. And when we commit to living and believing in the light then something else amazing happens – we become children of the light, offspring of the One who is light.

So how can we walk in the light and reap the rewards of being there?

John 8:12 offers us an answer in the following words:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Friends, Christians are to already be members of the light because they have accepted the One who professed that He is the Light of the world. He was, is, and will forever be so. Those who choose to follow Jesus will walk in the light of life and never walk in darkness for in Christ there is no darkness at all.

So where are you today? Are you walking in the light of the One who is Light? Or have you chosen to walk in the darkness of sin?

The good news for those living in sin is that you can move into the light this Christmas season. For as Isaiah prophesies:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:1, 6

As a bright star shines light upon a Bethlehem manger, Mary will deliver Jesus, the One who will be the Light to people living in sin and darkness. And those who live in His light will be light themselves, children of the Savior and Messiah of the world.

As Mary delivered Jesus, He stands ready to deliver you. Won’t you turn your heart to Jesus this Christmas and rejoice in the real reason for the season? He’s waiting to lead you through life and show you the rich blessings of walking in His light.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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