Witnessing: Come To The Light

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

John 12:46

It’s easy to become attached to a family pet. One evening my daughter, sobbing hysterically, awakened me from a sound sleep. Our pet hamster, Jesse, had crawled through a tiny crack at the base of our fireplace and dropped irretrievably down into the wall of our house. My wife, son, and daughter were distraught.

Poor Jesse. She had crawled into the darkness, and she was going to die. We all knew she was going to die, but she didn’t know it. She explored her new habitat carefree and unaware of the slow, lingering death before her. We desperately wanted to get her out of that dark place and save her. But she had fallen from a ledge and couldn’t climb her way back up to the thin sliver of light shining in. And we couldn’t reach our hands through the tiny crack. We were in emotional turmoil over her fate, but she didn’t even know she had a problem.

I didn’t know what to do. I went back to bed, but I’ll confess I couldn’t sleep. I prayed and asked God how I might be able to rescue this little pet hamster.

The next morning I went into the room behind the fireplace with a hammer and began to knock a hole through the wall. Drywall and powdery dust flew everywhere. When the hole was large enough for me to reach my hand through, I stopped pounding. After the dust cleared, I shined a flashlight into the hole. I saw Jesse and quickly grabbed her before she scurried from the light, retreating back into the shadows. She had been in the darkness long enough.

God Shines Light on Us…

In the same way, God smashed a hole in the wall of darkness which engulfed the whole world. We were unaware of the slow, lingering death by which we were going to die. We loved the darkness; it was a carefree habitat. But God knew, and He wanted to rescue us. God loved us so much that He hammered through the wall of darkness and shined a light on us so that we could find our way out.

…Then Draws Us to Him

But even though the light shined on us, we darted back into the shadows of the inky darkness. That is why He reached down and drew us up. The plain truth is that we, like Jesse, didn’t have the sense to come out of the darkness into the light on our own. God had to reach down and draw us up. “‘But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself’” (John 12:32).

Are you living in the light, or do you tend to stray back into the darkness? You may have seen the light but remain part of the world. People like that lived in Christ’s day—people who believed in him but loved the way of the world. They wanted to win the praise of men. “They would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God” (John 12:42—43).

Shine Your Light

Millions of people have crawled into the darkness and are going to die. God knows they are going to die, but they don’t know. He wants to draw them up out of this ticking tomb. Why does God insist you and I publicly confess our faith? He wants to use our light to show the others how to escape the darkness. Don’t merely believe, but confess your faith before all men. Shine your light. When you do, you are showing them the light of Christ to draw them up out of the inky darkness of despair and death.

Have you confessed your faith publicly, or are you afraid you will lose some of your privileges? Are you afraid your prestige will go down? Do you want the praise of your associates more than the praise of God?

I SURRENDER

Lord Jesus, I thank You for shining light on me and lifting me up out of the darkness. Help me to be a light for others. Amen.