DEVOTION – DAY 520

John 8:12 “Jesus Is The Light Of The World”

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This verse is the second of 7 “I am” statements made by Jesus. In choosing the phrase “I am” Jesus was declaring His Deity. At the same time, Jesus is also introducing an aspect of His attribute to the people. In John 8:12, Jesus declared “I am the light of the world.” 1 John 1:15 tells us that God is light. Jesus is also making the same assertion here. In addition, Jesus is also the light from God that lights the way for life – just as a pillar of fire lit the way ahead for the Israelites during the time of Moses (Ex.13:21). This verse also promises that those who follow Jesus will never walk in darkness. In the Bible, darkness refers to Satan and the lies and sinful lifestyles of this world. Therefore, followers of Jesus will discover that Jesus’ light will reveal all the ugliness and sins in their lives, and they will turn away and reject them, and exchange it for a life of truth and righteousness. Thus, they will never walk in darkness because they have Jesus.

Justin Beiber was born in 1994 and was raised by his unmarried mother singlehandedly. She worked in lowly paid jobs and he was raised in public housing. He showed early promise since he was gifted musically. His mother used to upload onto YouTube his song covers of hit songs in 2007. He also did some busking to earn spare cash outside a theatre in his hometown. He was discovered and promoted as a new singing sensation. He soon became famous and made a lot of money. Having achieved fame at such an early age, he found himself subjected to many temptations. Before he was 20, he already had fallen for sex, drugs, alcohol, bad behavior and so on. He also suffered from depression, anxiety and Lyme disease. His life seemed to be spiraling out of control. One day in 2014, at a low point, he heard the gospel and he opened his heart to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He told the Lord he did not like his life to end up wasted. That decision enabled him to have Jesus, the Light of the World to enter his life. He began to make conscious decisions to stay away from self-destructive behaviors and habits. He took greater care of his health. He began to regain control of his life. He also began to attend church regularly and he cultivated a cleaner and more wholesome public image. Today, he had acknowledged that he is a completely different person from whom he was before he became a Christian. He continued to enjoy financial and commercial success as a singer and musician. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for being the Light in our lives that reveal our sins and our need for a Savior. Thank you for your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Please help us to choose walking closely with you rather than the darkness of this world always. We pray in the great name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Do you make a conscious effort daily to reject walking in darkness, to reject temptations to sin? How are you doing that?
  2. How is Jesus the Light of the world in your life?
  3. Why is it important for you to have Jesus as the “Light” in your life? How has He helped you to flee from temptation to sin?