“12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” – John 8:12 (ESV)
I was brought to the above verse again this morning for the 3rd time in my study. First was when studying the word “walk” and then the word “follow” and this time as I study the word “darkness”. Each time I have been able to more deeply understand the verse and how I am to apply it to my life and walk with Christ.
First as I “walk” I am going with Christ through the darkness and not on my own. In October of 2018 I wrote: “But, God will shine through the darkness. In the New International Version (NIV) the 2nd half of verse 5 above says “but the darkness has not understood it”. So, God confuses the darkness allowing for us to walk right through.”
There I was referring to verse 5 of John 1 to go along with John 8:12.
5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5
I will be walking through the darkness with Christ and not in the darkness alone.
Secondly the verse indicates to me that first I am to go with Christ every step of the way. As I wrote in January of this year: “Following is more that just the physical action of going. We are to learn and apply based on that learning as well. Below is the commentary from my NIV Bible that helped me with my understanding of what it means to follow Christ.
‘As a soldier follows his captain, so we should follow Christ, our commander. As a slave follows his master, so we should follow Christ, our Lord. As we follow the advice of a trusted counselor, so we should follow Jesus’ commands to us in Scripture. As we follow the laws of our nation, so we should follow the laws of the kingdom of heaven.’”
And today, I see that the I have light wherever I go and that light is Christ. I no longer have to be in the darkness, but only temporarily pass through it with Christ as my light to navigate the difficult turns along the way. The darkness is all around me, but does not consume me as I have light coming from me that is provided by Christ who is my savior and deliverer.
When you encounter darkness, what is your attitude toward that state? Are you able to walk with Christ and follow Him through the darkness? Are you able to rely on Christ as your light in that darkness?
Trevor's Thoughts 