Sunday March 02
“Full of Light”
Luke 11:33-36
33 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."
In Luke 11:14, Jesus cast a demon out of mute man and immediately was accused of operating and exercising His authority by the power of Satan. After initially answering their accusations and request for a sign, Jesus gives them an illustration of the light on a lampstand and makes some powerful statements about the eye, light, and darkness. We need to remember that the kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of darkness while the kingdom of God is a kingdom of Light!
It is very interesting to note that we are introduced to darkness and light in the very first verses in the Bible. Right after we are told; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), we read; “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:2-5).
The very first creative act of God on earth was to speak light into existence, and we are introduced to the truth and concept that “God saw the light, that it was good” (v. 4). This statement then leads us to believe that just as light is good, darkness is bad. God created the human eye to only operate while light is present. You can’t see anything in the darkness. When Adam sinned, Satan’s kingdom of darkness invaded both the human soul and the earth itself. When we are born into this world, we are literal called the “children of wrath” because of our sin nature (Ephesians 3:1-3).
In Ephesians 5:8-11, Paul goes on to tell us: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” When we trust Jesus as the True Light and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, something wonderful takes place according to Colossians 1:13-14 which declares: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
When we trust Jesus Christ, our eyes are opened, the light shines in, and we become children of light (John 8:12; 2 Cor. 4:3-6; Eph. 5:8-14). The important thing is that we take advantage of the light and have a single outlook of faith. If we keep one eye on the things of God and the other eye on the world (1 John 2:16), the light will turn into darkness! There is no "twilight living" for the Christian, for God demands total submission and obedience (Luke 11:23).
Three men in the Bible illustrate this truth. They began in the light and ended up in the darkness because they were double-minded. The name Samson probably means "sunny," yet he ended up a blind slave in a dark dungeon because he yielded to the "lust of the flesh" (Judges 16). Lot began as a pilgrim with his uncle Abraham. He ended as a drunk in a cave, committing incest (Genesis 19:30-38), because he yielded to "the lust of the eyes" (Gen. 13:10-11). Lot wanted to serve two masters and look in two directions! King Saul began his reign as a humble leader but his pride led him to a witch's cave (1 Samuel 28), and he died of suicide on the field of battle (1 Samuel 31). His sin was "the pride of life"; he would not humble himself and obey the will of God.
Each of us is controlled either by light or darkness. The frightening thing is that some people have so hardened themselves against the Lord that they cannot tell the difference! They think they are following the light when, in reality, they are following the darkness. The scribes and Pharisees claimed to "see the light" as they studied the Law, but they were living in the darkness (John 9:39-41).
In John 12:35-36; 46, Jesus said: "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light…”. “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”
Today, is your life “full of His Light”?
God bless!
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