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Topic: light (05/24/04)
TITLE: True Light...or Not? By Clay Drysdale 05/28/04 |
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On the most basic level, though, what is light to us as humans? Obviously, physical light is necessary to for us to see. We must have sunlight, fire, or some type of man-made light to carry on our daily activities. Light is also essential to the plants and animals we rely on for food. God even commands us to "live as children of light" (Eph. 5:8 NIV).
Light, however, is not always what it seems to be. While God is light and goodness, Satan often "masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:10 NIV), deceiving us into believing what is actually evil is of God. While we don't understand why (at least I don't!), God has allowed Satan this ability. As god of this world he has, within certain boundaries, much freedom to do as he wishes. We find God telling Satan, "Everything he [Job] has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger" (Job 1:12 NIV). While he can't touch us without God's permission, he is able to do everything in his power to tempt us to sin against God, trying his best to make our lives a "hell on earth". Some people see a devil behind every bush, but I'm not sure I'm one of them. I do, however, believe that Satan is alive and well, lurking and waiting for the next opportunity to ambush us when we least expect it.
Because spiritual light to guide our lives is crucial to us, we must maintain a vigilant attitude toward the world around us, not leaving ourselves open to the enemy's deception. We must "test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1 NIV). It is dangerous to assume that because a person looks like a Christian and sounds like a Christian, he or she MUST BE speaking God's word.
When I encounter someone whose teachings seem a bit "off" from what I know is true, instead of wasting time figuring out if that person is a Baptist, Calvinist, or otherwise, I try to check what they're saying to see if it is Christ-like and lining up with God's Word. After all, there are many people who call themselves Christians in this world, but there has only been and will ever be one Christ. We must look to Him constantly as the model for our lives.
Imagine for a moment if we used a copy machine to duplicate a cake recipe, then used the copy to make another copy, and that copy to make yet another copy, etc. Soon the page would be so dim we wouldn't be able read what was written on it. We'd have to guess at the amounts of the ingredients to add to our cake. The result probably wouldn't taste very good! That's what happens to our lives when we aren't "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15 NKJV), checking the things of this world against God's word. The light we think is feeding our spirit essential nutrients, may instead be giving us a spiritual sunburn!
If we have accepted Christ into our lives, we are not alone, however. Our Father has sent the Holy Spirit to help us discern light from darkness, good from evil. Jesus promises us that the Spirit is our "Counselor...[who] will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26 NIV). To enlist the Spirit's aid all we have to do is pray to the Father and He will "give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 12:13 NIV). Who could ask for a better promise!
Our prayers each day should include asking the Holy Spirit to guide us toward the true light of the world, Jesus Christ, and away from all darkness.