Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
THE LIGHT BEFORE US
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
There are many things that I depend on and yet, take for granted. One of these is the headlights on the car. They have led me through the darkness for countless miles while I roll along the road without even thinking about them. I have also been in some driving situations when I breathed a prayer, “Thank you Lord for headlights.” They can make the difference whether or not, you get home in the dark.
The simplicity of Jesus’ teaching is incredibly profound. To have the benefit of the light you must follow it. (Remember that He is the Light of Life.) What could be so foolish as going ahead of the light? Yet, how often do we run ahead of the Light of Christ because we think that we can get along without it, or the speed of Christ’s Light is sometime to slow for our patience?
As a pastor, I have found that when you counsel folks not to get in a hurry about some things, to take time to wait on the Lord; it is advice that is often not received well. We are reminded that not once did Jesus run ahead of His Father. He once said when being pressured to do something, “My time is not yet, but your time is always.” How true that is.
Run ahead of Jesus and you run in the darkness. That will soon enough give you plenty of trouble to worry about. Follow Jesus, and the light will guide your way one step at a time, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Life is always before us, not behind us. No one goes back to life, but forward. Taillights leave an afterglow of where we have been, but that soon becomes darkness again. Let the words of the hymn be our heart’s desire:
“I want to walk as a child of the light
I want to follow Jesus…
In Him there is no darkness at all…
The Lamb is the light of the city of God
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus
I want to see the brightness of God
I want to look at Jesus.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
Link to YouTube Video – I Want to Walk as a Child
