Do you ever have trouble walking in the dark? What happens when you don’t choose the light? When you walk in the dark you can’t walk with confidence and have to feel your way to your destination. When we do this in life it often results in fear and anxiety.
Those who are without Christ find themselves in this situation daily. They must depend on what they can touch or feel for direction and guidance. The death and resurrection of Jesus has given us a choice as to whether we walk in the dark or walk in the light.
Judas Did Not Choose the Light
The day before Jesus was crucified, He had gathered his disciples together for a special evening together of teaching, prayer and fellowship. After the meal Judas chose to betray Jesus and leave. In this step of betrayal Judas choose darkness.
John 13:27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.[1]
Judas walked away from the Light of the World and into the darkness of night symbolic of the direction of his life.
Why is Choosing the Light important?
Jesus is our light. John 1:5 The light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light (Jesus) so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.[2]
Why does Jesus want you to choose the light? The Lord wants to adopt you into His family and be a child of God. Wow! Stop and think about that for a moment. The God of the universe wants to invite you into His family!
Jesus Invites You to Choose the Light
Fortunately, you don’t have to be like Judas and walk into the darkness because you can choose, with the Lord’s help, to walk in the light of Christ with all of its blessings. When you choose to walk in the light you can walk with confidence, knowing that Jesus, the light of the world, is leading the way by His spirit.
John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” [3] When we choose to follow Jesus, we don’t have to walk in the darkness of life because He leads us.
As Christians we are called to walk by faith and not by sight. The light we are walking in is a spiritual light, not a natural one. That spiritual light allows us the gift of discernment to avoid the snares and pitfalls laid out for us by the devil. God wants us to walk in confidence, trusting in His guidance. Walk in confidence, walk in the light, walk with Jesus.
Prayer to Choose the Light
Lord Jesus, help us to walk in confidence today, and every day. Thank you for sending your Son to die for use so that we can have a choice to walk in your light. Father let us not only walk in the light but bring your light to others in darkness. We pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen.[4]
To hear more about choosing light, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/encountering-jesus-with-the-disciples
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.