A while ago, I started to look at the "I AM" statements that Jesus made as He walked this earth. I came up with 17 different things He said about Himself in the gospels. I've been wanting to take a deeper look at these, and so over the next couple of months, I will be sharing here about what God is teaching me in relation to those statements. There may be times when there is some diversion based on what I am seeing, but I think this is a good continuation of the theme of being an imitator. If I can grow in my understanding of who Christ is, there's more opportunity to reflect Him.
I've been thinking a lot about light recently, so I will start with Jesus words in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." From the beginning of creation this idea of light has been with us. Gen.1:3 gives us this account, "Then God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light." And in Revelation 21:23 we read, "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." God, who John tells us is light, spoke the light that we know into existence, and will forever be the light of our eternal habitation. Jesus identifies Himself as God in this saying. And He gives us a promise here as well. Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness. In his first epistle, John speaks of this relationship, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." So, where I walk is an indicator of the strength of my relationship with Jesus. I can't say that I'm His follower while engaging in the deeds of darkness. Paul gives this charge in his epistle to the Ephesians, "for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light"5:8.
We who once knew only darkness, have become light as a result of relationship with Jesus. This leads me to the other place where Jesus talks about being light. But in this verse He qualifies it. "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Why does He say it this way? I think we gain some insight into this in His sermon on the mount recorded in Matthew's gospel. "You are the light of the world...Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matt. 5:14,16 We have been commissioned by Him who is light to be light, reflecting Him. As we do this, others will see our actions and give glory to God, the source of our light. Jesus lived as an example for us, reflecting the light of the Father, and now that He is no longer physically present on earth, He has passed on to His followers the privilege and responsibility of shining forth the light that comes from Him.
I want others to see light in my life today. I want to be a proclaimer of "the excellencies of Him who has called [me] out of darkness into His marvelous light;" 1 Pet. 2:9b
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