John 12:44-46 (In The Light)

Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. (John 12:44-46)

Read: Daniel 5:1-31, Daniel 7:1 – 8:27

Relate: Funny thing. As I was chewing on today’s verse and what it means for my life today, a facebook status update I just posted last night came to mind. I’ll copy a portion of it here:

A few things I was reminded of tonight.
1) I absolutely love crisp fall nights when it isn’t quite cold enough to pull on a sweatshirt.
2) Boulevard isn’t really a boulevard. It’s a dead end. It doesn’t matter if I’m turning on to it from the left or the right. It is still a dead end.
3) If I’m running aimlessly and happen to see a really cool looking hill I am goin to run up it. Again… And again… Doesn’t matter how many times I already have. I have no self control.
4) Starting from Schubert and Matthews there are five hundred ways to make one or two random turns and end up back at Schubert and Matthews.
5) Even though I’ve spent over six years living in this neighborhood it is still possible to get all turned around without ever getting further than two miles from home.

Now truth is, I was just out for an evening stroll and didn’t truly care all that much where I was going. At all times, I knew I was inside the box made up of Beethoven, Grand, West End, and Riverside. But where inside that box? Quite often I had no clue. Part of the problem is that it was dark out. I’m normally navigating through that tangled warren only in the daytime. Part of the problem was that I had no real goal or destination in mind. I was just out for a stroll and was headed wherever my feet would take me.

React: All too often those two problems perfectly illustrate how we go through life. Because we have no fixed purpose or destination in life, we find ourselves just wandering aimlessly through it. Yes, we would like to someday get to heaven but it doesn’t become a driving factor in our daily walk. Yes, we would like to leave a legacy and live for something beyond ourselves, but aside from the occasional gift of time or treasure it doesn’t really become who we are. It is more of a vague “Someday I would like to…”

The same thing is true in how we live for Jesus. Yes, we have made an intellectual assent to His Lordship. We have verbally acknowledged Him as our Savior. But His light doesn’t illuminate our daily walk. Sure we go to church, but we aren’t called and commanded to “go to church” we are called to be the church wherever we go. Christianity is something we claim but it isn’t who we are. In reality we are simply wandering through life completely turned around even though home is oh so close. God forgive us.

Respond: 

View video @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Dirpv9ZBExw

God, illuminate my life. God, guide my steps. I don’t want to just say that I trust You, help me to put that trust to the test day in and day out. I don’t want to just say I see You. I want to really see Your leading in my life every day as I follow You with every heartbeat, not just for a few hours some Sundays. Guide me out of the dark. Let Your light, that shines in the dark places, shine through me.