In John 8:12 we read, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'” This world in which we live is filled with the darkness of sin, and yet most people don’t even realize or pay attention to the darkness that surrounds them. It’s like John wrote in 1 John 2:11, “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
People who live in the most northern part of Alaska know something about darkness. At Barrow, Alaska, it’s completely dark for 67 days out of the year. If you ask them how they make it during those days when there is no sunlight, they tell you “Oh, you just get used to it being dark”. They are so used to it being dark for 67 days in a row that they don’t worry about it or think twice about it. The darkness doesn’t bother them, that’s part of living in north Alaska.
Unfortunately, that’s the way many people who claim to be Christians seem to feel about the darkness of sin that we see in this world. Many of them don’t seem to even give it a second thought – “That’s just part of this world” they say, and they just get so used to the darkness, that they blindly follow everyone else. They watch some of the television shows and movies that do NOT honor God. They participate in things that the Bible says are wrong, and argue “everyone does it!” And, they care more about the wisdom and values of this world than they do about following Jesus Christ….They’ve been blinded by the darkness, and most don’t even seem to realize it.
Now, the people in Barrow, Alaska don’t just stumble around in the darkness for 67 days, when the sun doesn’t shine up there. No, they turn on the light. They use a flashlight, a lantern, street lights….they walk in the light that has been provided. AND the same should be true of us. Yes, it’s DARK out there – but so what? Jesus Christ is the LIGHT of this world – we simply must follow Him. AND, the closer we follow HIM, the more light we will have to walk according to His Word and His commandments.
If we want to find our way and not stumble in the darkness – we simply MUST walk as close to the LIGHT as we can!