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Darkness and Light 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." (John 8:12) During the season of Epiphany, we hear the idea of light repeated often in the Scripture readings for our worship services. We light the candles, turn on the lights, and worship begins. Light is absolutely necessary for our lifestyle, whether at home, at work, or at church. It then is very logical to us that Jesus would speak about our need for His. Jesus speaks about darkness as well. There is no need for light if there is no darkness. The darkness Jesus speaks of is the darkness of the human soul, the darkness of our sinful nature. His light is the forgiveness of our sins, the relief from the consequences of our sins, and the new life He brings to people who have lived with the darkness. He is the answer to the prophesy from Isaiah 9:2, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” You and I know a fair amount about human darkness. We have experienced the darkness from other people when we are the targets of cruelty, unkindness, rudeness, prejudice, selfishness, or other sins. We know the darkness well – it’s part of us. We don’t live a day without facing the darkness in ourselves or in other people. We try to avoid it, get away from it, pretend it isn’t there, or otherwise escape from the darkness. The bad news about all our efforts is this – we cannot escape the darkness by our own efforts. As Martin Luther expressed it, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him.” Jesus knows all this about us. When He talks about us following Him, it is excellent news! We can’t follow someone who isn’t available to us. Jesus is here through His Holy Word, through Baptism, through the Lord’s Supper. He wants us to experience “the light of life.” Jesus will do all that is needed to enable us to live in His light. So how is life going for you? Has the darkness been troubling you lately? Have you been depressed, sad, angry, hurt, resentful, frustrated? Open the Bible and read John 8 or Psalm 119:105-112. Open your eyes, your mind, and your heart to His Word. Jesus will lead you with His light.
In
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