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Light of the World ...

Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Does it make sense to look into the bible daily? Yes, it does. It is a great book. It is inspiration and guidance, day by day. We need this guidance every day - we are not able to just do the right things without this guidance. We need it to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to do what is good, and to not be drawn into destructive attitudes.

Not in Darkness …

In John 8, Jesus is talking about his own role - about the “light of the world”. There is a lot of discussion in this chapter. People do not believe in him, they challenge and question his role and his attitude. But Jesus is holding against it …

Jesus is inviting us to the “light of life”:

12 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.” (John 8, 12)

He is working out the contrast between “being from above” and “being from the world”. Have a look into the whole passage …

23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8, 23ff)

It is faith in him, which saves. It is faith in him, which gives us the light of life. It is faith in him, which keeps us from death “in our sins”. It is faith!

Reality of Light and Fight at the same time …

Living in the light of Jesus is a reality for those who believe. It is a big challenge at the same time. When you live in the middle of Christian groups and Christian churches, you know what I am talking about. There is a lot of grace, a lot of joy, a lot of trust in Christian community. It is good to see that the Holy Spirit is working on us, and working throught us. He is changing our life, changing many people.

There is also a lot of trouble in life, and it does not spare Christian groups and Christian churches. We are challenged. We are not yet there. We are not as free as we could be, when a mature faith would govern our heart, our mind and our emotions. We get into conflicts with one another … and we have our difficulties with the characters and behavioral patterns of the other people around us.

But the light is strong. God's light is strong. He is the sourceof foregiveness and the source of a bright and warm light. When we let him reign in our heart and our mind, he can help us and save us, and he does, indeed.

When I listen to sentences like the above, I am immediately reminded of some current problems which I face as a responsible member of the church. We HAVE these challenges - to communicate with each other and to search the way of the Lord in our own life. But I am confident that we will find a way together, as long as we build our life on him, not on our own agenda. The world is dead, but he lives forever. And in him, there is always a future, there is always hope, and nothing is impossible! We need to keep that in mind, and then get together and resolve our issues. Let us follow him … (Roland Potthast) ... more texts