“Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.”
John 12:35-36 NLT
Light and darkness, good and evil, blessings and curses. A black and white world in which no grey middle ground exists. People think that if they live a “good” life then all will be well. Those who acknowledge that they are living a “bad” life accept their ultimate fate. But then there are those who reject such semantics about life and live in what they think is a grey world driven by secular beliefs and attitudes, bolstered by politicians who have no moral compass, all drifters in a sea that, because it is not illuminated by the Light, is effectively in darkness. They just don’t realise that if they are not light inhabitants, then they, by default, live in the dark.
But whether or not people live in darkness or light, they are all made in God’s image. Genesis 1:26a, “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. …” So every human being is wired with light already built in, just waiting to connect with the Source of light, their Creator. A light bulb is ready to illuminate its surroundings, but until it is connected to a source of power, it remains dark and useless. God graciously allows people to make choices about the world in which they live but there will come the day when they find out that they are in a place of darkness. Those that choose the light end up in God’s presence.
There are those who do some amazing good works during their lives, works obviously illuminated by the light within them, but they are still heading for a dark eternity. Surely God will have mercy on such people when they stand before Him to account for their lives, is a common thought propagated by people of the dark. But as Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard“. Even the most amazing good deed will still fall short of the righteousness that God requires. It is not deeds that God requires, but a repentant heart that believes in Him. But I have a suspicion that God, as He did with the penitent thief, will still draw to Him those breathing their last, allowing a choice to be made when those around them think that it is too late.
Jesus said to the people in the crowd around Him in those Passover days that they were in a privileged position, with the Light of the world living with them. He would soon be executed following trumped up and baseless charges administered by an illegal court, but for all those in His company, time stood still while His words hung in the air. “Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light”. And even today those words, through God’s grace, are still with us, words of life and hope in a dark, sad and hopeless world.
The amazing thing about God’s grace is that it never changes or is diminished as long as a human being is breathing. A hardened criminal, being executed following a life of crime, hung on a cross next to Jesus, and received forgiveness as he put his trust in the light. The other criminal chose darkness in a whirl of curses and anger. One found himself in Heaven, the other in hell. Light and darkness, good and bad, blessings and curses, Heaven and hell. Choices that can be made in this life for eternity in the life thereafter.
Dear Father God. We are so grateful for Your grace and mercy. Without it we would be heading for the punishment we deserve, the punishment that Jesus took on Himself in our place. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 