“He said this to show by what kind of death He was going to die. So the crowd answered Him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’” John 12:33-36
Devotional Thought For The Day
I never really thought about it as a young man – I guess that I had just assimilated so many experiences of conflict that it seemed normal. The entire Scripture is filled with conflict – principally between God and the devil, between good and evil, and also between servants of God’s Word and human beings ensnared and overtaken by the darkness of sin’s delusion. The conflict was also within my own heart and mind, and while this certainly created discomfort, decisions and choices were made one way or the other. We have to live in this world and somehow get along with others and make our way. Often this means that the darkness is trying to permeate and take over our being. We all have much to repent of, and much reason to have gratitude for God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness.
Even when the Lord Jesus came into the world, God’s anointed, God’s almighty and eternal Son, the conflict didn’t cease. Rather, it seems to have intensified. The closer one is to God the more difference and contrast there is to the world, and hence the more conflict. This is a sad reality, and the conflict is wearying and depressing – so that sooner or later the child of God comes to “hate his life in this world.” [Jn. 12:25] So it should not surprise us that Jesus experienced such intensified conflict, and ultimately it led to His being murdered by those walking in the darkness. Nor should it surprise us that we face increasing conflict in our interactions with those who are afflicted by influences of the darkness and especially with those overtaken by darkness, as we grow in the knowledge of the truth and the freedom of God. And we should beware of residual darkness within our own fallen sinful nature which also blinds us and opposes Christ, God, and those who are walking in the light – lest we end up on the wrong side of the conflict.
The crowd even used God’s written word to oppose the teaching of Jesus and to reject Him as Savior and Lord. The devil also used Holy Scripture in the great temptation of Jesus [Matt. 4:1-11]. We must learn from Jesus to use the “sword of the Spirit,” the Word of God [Eph. 6:17], to parry deceptions and temptations and to defeat all who try to use the text of Scripture to deny and reject Jesus and the salvation of God. Again, this is more conflict, and it is more intense because it is closer to God. This is particularly troubling and difficult because we assume that the one place where we will be able to find rest and repose from conflict is within the church – but the external church has also been seeded with sons of darkness. [Matt. 13:24-30] So the greater conflict resides in the institutional church, where there are still children of light, rather than in the homogeneous darkness of the fallen world of unbelievers.
Jesus encourages us: “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” This is one option, but one that will include all of the conflict we have been considering. Believing in Jesus, siding with God, brings the intense opposition of the darkness – because you actually become a child of light, and this becomes your nature. The other option is to be overtaken by the darkness – but this means not even knowing where we are going. The conflict will ultimately be resolved – with the coming of the Lord Jesus in glory, and then we will have peace; but the darkness will never be lifted for those who are overtaken by it – their judgment and fate is eternal. So the loathing and hatred of this life within the children of light is temporary, the tribulations involved with this conflict – and it will fade away to nothing in view of the glory that shall be revealed in us [Rom. 8:18]. So let us cling to Jesus and believe in Him so that we remain children of light. At least then we know where we are going, for as He has promised: “He that believes the Son has everlasting life.” In the meantime we endure all things knowing that He is with us working all things together for our great good and blessedness [Rom. 8:28]. And in spite of the conflict, knowing that we have peace with God and the blessings of His love is far superior to being lost in the darkness!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to understand and to take in stride the conflict of being a child of the light in this world, and to endure our dismay and disgust over this earthly life. Keep us from bitterness, depression, and resignation. Help us to find the peace and joy of faith and of life within Your family. Preserve and protect us from all darkness, and from the evil intentions of those who seek to destroy all good. Help us to look forward to Your final victory over all sin and evil, and to the blessed joys of Your heavenly kingdom. Amen.