We Need Him 4

John 3:19

Many years ago our neighbor had a load of mulch delivered to his house. The huge pile of wood chips and fertilizer was dumped very near our house, and then for a few days we were plagued with cockroaches that came in from the mulch.

It was disturbing to enter into our family room, switch on the light, and watch dozens of the creepy little creatures scatter and hide. They didn’t like the light. They preferred the dark, and it was somehow fitting that these bugs which we detested preferred to avoid being seen.

It isn’t only bugs that like the darkness. Some people seem to prefer the dark, and Jesus has his own comments about them. What has Jesus brought to the world? What was the response?

A few verses before this comment Jesus explains that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.” This comment harkens back to the beginning of John. John 1:4 states, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

The gift of Jesus – his teaching, his sacrifice, his healing – was a gift of light from God. Jesus is the gift of light, which is the light of hope, the light of joy and the light of love. Jesus brings us the light of spiritual healing, and healing of the heart.

Yet, so many people prefer to ignore the light. They choose to continue living a life of darkness, a life of ignorance, a life of shame, a life of suffering. Some people prefer to be in the darkness of sin and suffering, rather than confess their needs to God and accept Christ as their Savior. Some people are, perhaps, unaware that what they are doing, how they are living, is the wrong way of living. They may need light shone into their lives and hearts so that they can see there is a better way.

Are we willing to face the darkness so that we can instead turn to the light? We must be aware of our need so that we can go to Jesus for our healing. And when we have been healed – body and soul – we can help others come out of the dark and enter the light of God’s love.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you keep darkness out of your life?