‘False Light’

Daily Devotional January 5th

“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” (Luke 11:34-36)

Jesus spoke the above words to a crowd immediately after having healed a man possessed by a demon that had prevented him from being able to talk. The man, once cured, began speaking freely and of course those around were amazed. But there were others in the crowd who refused to recognize Jesus as having come from God, so insisted He got His power from the devil. Jesus points out how ridiculous this is, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (v.17-18).

Jesus continued, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (v.17). Jesus knew who supported Him and who did not. His fiercest opponents were often the religious teachers, the very ones who had been telling the people of the promised Messiah’s coming; unfortunately, their expectations of the Messiah lead them to reject Jesus. They did not have a clear picture of the Messiah from Scripture and so the light they believed they had served to create darkness in their understanding; this ultimately prevented them from seeing the true light and left them unable to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.

As I read these verses, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jesus would think of the ‘light’ we cling to as Christ-followers in 2021. This past year has shown up a significant amount of ‘darkness’ masquerading as light…dare I say even in the Church. We have witnessed vitriol, unbridled ambition and blind refusal to engage one another in healthy discussion, choosing rather to accuse anything that looks different than the ‘light’ we profess of being ‘darkness.’
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Jesus’ warning two millennium ago is still just as pertinent as it was in His day, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” The religious leaders failed to heed Jesus’ warning and in their adamant refusal schemed and orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus—the Messiah they claimed to be so dogmatically zealous for. We all have blind spots, which is why we must all remain humble and willing to receive course correction when needed. Let’s not be guilty of refusing to give up any ‘false light’ we may be clinging too and thereby end up fighting God.
~ Pastor Jane