Lost Without the Light

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." (John 8:12 NAS)

In February 2008, a wide-ranging blackout swept across Florida which affected nearly one million households and businesses, knocking out traffic signals and trapping scores of people in elevators, reported The New York Times. Within a two-hour period, Miami-Dade fire officials received reports of about 40 car accidents; more than triple the daily average. At least eight power plants and 15 major transmission lines were knocked out. Among the affected power plants was the Turkey Point nuclear complex in southern Miami-Dade County, where two reactors shut themselves down within seconds of the initial failure when automatic devices sensed a voltage drop on the incoming power lines, a spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington told the press. According to Florida Power & Light, 700,000 to 800,000 of its 4.4 million customers were without electricity at the peak of the blackout.

“It was pitch black and nobody knew what was going on,” said Mr Ulises Orozco who was in a 50-story office building in Miami when the power went out. “It was hot and humid within the stairwell, but most people chose to evacuate the building anyway because there were all these conspiracy theorists talking about terrorism.”Imagine how much havoc darkness can create for us all when we are without light. Jesus understands what it means for the world to live in darkness when He said to His disciples "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him" (John 11:9-10 NAS).

"For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light" (John 12:35-36a NAS).

As believers in the Lord, we are all called to become sons of Light. Jesus is the Light of the world, and as His followers, we should not walk in darkness, but have the Light of life (John 8:12). We are to work the works of Him who sent us, as long as it is day, for night is coming when none of us will be able to do the work of God (John 9:4). What our Lord tells us in darkness or in privacy, therefore, we must speak in the light (Matthew 10:27). If we fail to do our part to speak in the light, then all who are still living in darkness will surely perish without any hope of survival when they are thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13-14).

Our first step in becoming sons of Light therefore is to stay clear from darkness and walk in His light. This means we must first begin by coming clean before God in all areas of our unholy lives, in confession and repentance, to take steps to build a closer relationship with God, to pray, study, and walk in His Word. Once we have laid hold of our lives to live victorious in Christ, we must then decisively take steps to stamp out the darkness in our lives, the bad habits and unhealthy practices, before we can illuminate the world.

Dear Lord, open our eyes and minds to see and remember the havoc darkness can create in our lives and in the lives of those who are yet unsaved. Help us Lord to depart completely from darkness to walk in the Light. Stir in our hearts Lord to understand the consequences the lost will have to bear if we fail to reach out to them. Shine through us O God that the world may receive the Light of the world and be set free from darkness.