“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46 NIV
I require glasses in order to see clearly. Given my (slightly) older age, I now require progressive lenses in order to allow my vision to be clear at multiple distances. Before I walk into a room that is dimly lit, I will turn on the light.
Yesterday my wife and I received the keys to our, new to us, commercial property. This building however is not new. Upon possession we did a quick examination of the property and a sense of unknowing and uncertainty began to set within me. It is now up to us to figure out and determine why a light does not turn on, why a water pipe is leaking, confirming that the gas is turned on so that the furnace will start, and the list of uncertainties continue. For my wife, the biggest concern is are there mice? (Which I can understand 😝) With our newly acquired property, there is no instruction manual, no map, and with many lights not working, we are literally left in the dark.
Our lives can be just like this. Uncertain of its meaning, no map to follow, and trying to identify our purpose in being here. We can find ourselves aimlessly wondering about as we try to figure everything out on our own. But the good news is, it doesn’t need to be like that. Christ came to show us how to live and who to live for. He came to give us hope. He came to give us joy. He came to give us peace. And we can have all those things because He first came to give us light.
The light that He offers allows us to no longer being slaves to darkness. He breaks all chains of sin, slavery, and addictions, and shows us how to live a new life of freedom, no longer desiring to fulfill our sinful desires. When we walk in His light and live by the Spirit, there no longer remains any uncertainty, no darkness, and best of all, no condemnation.
Lock Your Wings 
Light (clarity) is important…but ensuring there is no infestation of distractions is also very important 😏
This stood out for me: “Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too,”
John 12:10 NLT
“For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.”
John 12:43 NLT
I listened to a podcast yesterday about the comparison of devices to our own “kingdom” where we control who we let in, what we see, how long we see it, and we thrive on people “worshipping” us through likes and follows. These two verses stood out for me because they indicate that this was the problem in Jesus’ time too: when you don’t like someone you desire to “block” them and value on what others think of you overshadows your importance to God.
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