Walking in the Light

The Bible tells us in John chapter 8 that Jesus is the Light of the world. And in Psalm 119, the scripture says that His word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. 1 John teaches us to walk in the light as He is in the light so that we can have fellowship with one another. How do these verses apply to my life?

Imagine that this life is like walking through the forest at night (Isaiah 59:9-10). I don’t mean a beautiful place like the redwood forest in California with wide open spaces and well-marked paths. Instead I picture a forest in which we have to navigate through thorn bushes and vines, watching out for roots jutting out of the ground or for unexpected holes dug by animals. Most of the time, it is not fun. It is not easy. And more often than not, we are alone.

 As we trudge through this forest, we will inevitability fall (Isaiah 40:30). It is unavoidable in the dark, but it’s embarrassing and it’s always unexpected. Nobody plans to fall. So we learn how to protect ourselves from the shame. At a distance, nobody can really see that we have ever fallen. The colorless light of the moon doesn’t reveal the mud on our jeans or the scrapes on our hands. And even though we long for the company of others, we can’t allow anyone to get close enough to see these wounds.

We all wander through this forest looking for a path or some direction. Which is the right way? How do we measure progress? Is it worth even taking one more step? Why are we here anyway? Sometimes a person will come along who claims to know the right way to go, and we choose to follow that person or group for a while, but many times those groups just lead to an even darker part of the forest (Isaiah 5:20-21).

Eventually though, you will encounter a well-lit path (Proverbs 4:18-19). You can see it from a great distance and you long for that path. It draws you in. There is a Guide on that path who has walked this trail before. But as you get closer, something becomes very obvious. This light is different than moonlight, and it reveals the very things that you have been trying to hide. From this distance, the people on the path look pretty clean. What would they think of you with the rips in your jeans and the leaves in your hair? So now you have a choice to make.

 Some people choose to keep their distance and walk beside the path, never really stepping into the light (John 3:20). They tell themselves that at least now they know that they are going in the right direction. Meanwhile, they are still wearily climbing over logs and cutting through vines and tripping over roots. Being close to the light and yet not walking in it can be more discouraging than before when you had no knowledge of that path. Others who are walking in the other direction seem to have it easier. Eventually, the pain of this journey will prompt you to choose a direction. Either you will finally humble yourself and step into the light, or you will turn and walk away from it.

Not everyone hesitates to step into the light. Some run into the light with gladness and relief and don’t care at all about exposing their dirt. The Guide comes along beside them with compassion, and He treats their wounds and cleans them up (Psalm 147:3). They receive their own light to carry and they begin to walk with confidence, peace and hope for the future.

 Unfortunately, walking in the light is not without challenges of its own. You see, even when you have the light, you can still fall (Proverbs 24:16). The reality is that you are still walking through a forest at night (Micah 7:8). It is not as easy as you expected. So you still have choices to make. Do you choose to distance yourself from those with the brightest lights? Do you dim your light a little more each time you fall? If these are your choices, you will soon be walking alone once again, wondering why you ever thought this path would be better than your own.

Once you have joined the Guide in this journey along The Way, it is not possible to get lost again, but it is possible to move away from His light. But no matter how hard you are trying to hide the evidence of your failures, the Guide will not leave you alone (Matthew 18:11). He can always find you again because even the darkness is light to Him. So He sees every time you fall, no matter how far away you are, and He longs to help you and walk with you again, but he won’t force you.

The happiest travelers on this path are the ones who have quit trying to hide (Psalm 16:11). They hate the darkness. They keep as close as they can to the Guide, walking in His very footsteps to avoid as many pitfalls as possible (Isaiah 42:16). They have given up the burden of perfection, neither holding themselves or others to that impossible standard. Instead, they follow their Leader as meek as a child who knows how lost they would be on their own (Matthew 18:3).

 And these travelers are never alone. There is always a group close to the Guide and they are constantly helping each other. They have found that when they hold onto each other, they are much less likely to trip. But if one does fall, there is no condemnation or criticism. They help him up and continue on (Ecclesiastes 4:10). The focus is no longer on falling, but on the Guide, the destination, and helping others get there (Isaiah 58:8-11).

You see, the ones who walk closely to the Guide are the ones who know the truth about this journey. It may seem long, but the sun will soon be rising (Romans 3:12). Tears may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). And at that time, we will reach our destination, the place that has been prepared for us (John 14:2-3) where there is no more night, no darkness at all (Revelation 22:5). We can finally shed these filthy, torn up clothes and be given new ones, never to walk in shame again (Revelation 6:11).

 So where are you on this journey? Have you taken that first step into the light? If so, have you chosen to remain in the light? Have you quit trying to make you own path and admitted your complete dependence on the only One who can guide you, step by step? Do you walk with those whose light shines the brightest or do you dim your own light and walk alone?