Following the Light - The Way Out

The apostle John seemed to recognize the light and referenced the light as being a person.

See this...In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent John the Baptist to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world. John 1:1-9

John is announcing that Jesus is the Light and he was coming into the world. Jesus' teaching through the parables also points us to Light and its power to bring us out of hiddenness (darkness).

Parable of the Lamp

²¹ Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. ²² For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. ²³ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

²⁴ Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. ²⁵ To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

In both of these parables, Jesus seems to be bringing a certain signifcance to light. He seems to be saying that light is required for us to find the way out and that He is the light. He also is calling those who He is speaking to; to listen, pay close attention. He is impressing on the ones He is speaking to that this is very important.

He wants us to know Him and that He is the way out of the labrynth. The Light will lead us home. And home is where the freedom is, no more darkness, no need to hide in the labrynth of our minds and hearts.

What is required of us to access the power of the Light, to find the way out of the labrynth? More about that next time... your thoughts?

Hope in the Laybrinth of Hiddenness

Will you journey with me in finding the way out of the labrynth of hiddenness? You've come with me this far, so follow me into the place of hope for the way out of hiddenness. There is freedom in the Way. It is risky and messy but when one finally comes out from behind the mindless pathways of hiddenness in the labrynth, there is an undeniable release into life.

In the first century the apostles who were following Jesus were caught up with a life of hiddenness. There were so many voices competing with Jesus that were offering pathways out of a life of hiddenness. Most of the voices were saying, "this man can't be telling the truth, he can't possibly fufill our laws in himself, get back in the labrynth of laws where it is safe." Thomas asked this question of Jesus;

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life... John 14:5-6

Jesus also said this to Thomas and the others. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Hmmm, you might be pondering all of this and saying, "here we go...this guy is taking me down the road to religion, not another one of those." Hang in there with me, as I've come to discover that Jesus didn't come to take anyone down the road to religion. I really believe the thief is involved in leading people down that road, not Jesus.

Below you will read a famous verse quoted all the time in the context of going to heaven. John 3:16 I have included the verses that follow because there is something for us here in the pathway to freedom from hiddenness.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Did you notice the references to light there and contrasting light with darkness? In my understanding at this point, I think darkness = hiddenness. We all like the darkness, because we think we can't be seen. The labrynth of hiddenness is a place of darkness.

Jesus is referenced by the apostle John as Light.

Could it be that a way out of the labrynth of hiddenness be found in following Jesus? We will explore this possibility next time. Your thoughts?