In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4-5 NIV)
Light. We golfers like a lot of light. It is much easier to play in bright sunshine where the line to the hole is clearly defined. In good light, we can more clearly see the imperfections on the green. If we are forced to putt in the shadows of a dying day, things become less clear. We can begin to imagine breaks that are not there, and the task of getting the ball into the hole becomes more difficult.
As it turns out, almost everything we do is easier if we have good lighting that enables us to see. If we are honest, we often find that we don’t have enough light to understand what’s really going on. In most areas of our life, we have more darkness than light. We find ourselves struggling to understand what’s happening to us. We live in a world where truth has become relative and more indistinct. We desperately would like to know what is real and what is shadow. Our world has become darker as the most strident voices drown out dissent and create uncertainty.
Where does light come from? True and eternal light comes from our Creator. He is the source of both literal light and the metaphorical light of truth. The world we live in today is not what God intended it to be. The darkness we experience is the result of our sin. It has separated us from the source of light. God has done a marvelous thing to redeem this world. He sent Jesus to be the light of the world. His own Son was with God when the world was created, and His light continues to shine in the darkness of this world even now. His eternal light will never be overcome by darkness, even as the world we live in seems to become even darker. As our verse for today clearly points out, life and light for all mankind is available to us if we place our trust in the true light of the world.
It is easier to live with better light. Trusting in Jesus, who is the light of the world, guarantees that we are no longer children of darkness but are instead children of the light. We can see clearly and have certainty if we let Him illuminate our hearts and minds with the truth of who He is.