Flashlights

 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12...."Give me the grace in the darkness to cling to what you spoke to me in the light.......The Spirit blows where He pleases. Only those who relate to Him closely can follow." Chris Tiegreen

The late Jamie Buckingham regularly led groups of men through parts of the wilderness that the Israelites traversed in the journey out of Egypt. These excursions always had at their root the teaching of deep spiritual truths that can only be discovered in the deserts and darkness of life. One of the happenings he tells us of was when he led the group up a mountain pathway in the night. A night that was filled with shining stars. Each man had a working flashlight, but Buckingham challenged them to not use them and to rely on the starlight from above. Most of the men accepted the challenge, but a few gave up after a short time and turned on their flashlights. As they continued upward, the men with the flashlights lagged further and further behind. They were only able to see a few feet ahead at a time and only saw what was directly before them. They were blind to all else. The men with Buckingham went further and further on because their eyes adjusted to the light given off by the stars, and they were able to see not only much further ahead, but also much more that was around them. The stars revealed real beauty to them, and all were very thankful for it. Those with the flashlights never saw any of it. They missed it all. There is a lesson for us here.

Those without Christ rely upon "artificial lights" given out by the world as guides through life. Jesus said such light, the light we think we have, is not light at all. It only leads to deeper darkness and a deeper lostness. Those who depend upon it are like the men with the flashlights. They become blind to all else, especially the true light that shines and came down from above. The men with the flashlights could not believe they could truly see without them but in truth, saw little or nothing of what was really there. Those who depended upon the light of the stars saw all the wonder that was right there before them. Scripture calls Jesus Christ the Bright Morning Star. He said and still says that He is the Light of the World. Yet countless millions either will not believe that or don't know that He is. They rely on the artificial flashlights of this world. Flashlights that give just enough light to lead you over the edge of a cliff.

It is a terrible tragedy to go through life without His Light to guide to life everlasting. It's an even greater one when some who do so also profess to be His followers. They never seem to be able to let go of their flashlights. They keep getting lost in the darkness. Jesus said He would be our Light in the darkness. His Light would shine in our remembrance of what He has spoken to and promised us. It would be revealed in our hearing His heartbeat and the whisper of His voice. When even all the artificial light has been lost, His Light remains. His Light leads us on.

This world is shrouded in the darkness of sin and death. It, and all the artificial light it offers will eventually pass away. It passes away as I write. His Light will never pass away, will never cease. As the darkness increases, so will the availability of His Light. He invites us into it. He invites us to lay down our flashlights in exchange for His eternal Light. He is the Light that is the Way through, the Way home. His Light insures we will not fall off the cliff. Not in this life, and most importantly, not in eternity. The flashlights of this world always eventually run out. His Light never does. Leave your flashlight behind. Let His Light open your eyes to all He will lead you to. The Light of the Bright Morning Star is shining. Can you see it?

Blessings,

Pastor O