The Too Bright Light

Scripture – John 8:12-18: 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.” The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) There are advantages to darkness. In the dark there’s a lot I cannot see. And so there’s a lot I can ignore. Sometimes a little light is all I really want – like a nightlight giving off just enough glow that I won’t walk into big things in the room. But the light Jesus brings is very bright. It reaches into corners of my life I don’t want to visit. It reveals things I’d rather not see. So I’ve built up my own inner system of filters and shades to block His light and keep it out of different areas of my heart. Part of my spiritual journey (and my spiritual struggle) involves dismantling that system bit by bit.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) I will remove one of the filters I have in place and let the light of Jesus into a new area. This is pretty personal, so I won’t say any more about it. It’s something I will do this week.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, show me my next move here. Help me overcome my resistance to your healing light. Thank you for your patience with me.