This is Memorial Day weekend.  A time when we pause to remember those who gave their lives to protect the freedoms that we now enjoy.  And the costs have been great.  One of our local papers this past week published a list of those veterans buried in the cemeteries in our area and the list filled two pages.  Freedom has never been secured cheaply.  And freedom is never preserved cheaply.  So, sometime this weekend, say a prayer of thanksgiving for those who have protected your rights to be what you are today. 

I would like to share some thoughts from John 8:12 this week.  It is the second of the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus recorded in this gospel.  Verse 12 reads: Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."  In order for us to understand the significance of this statement about light, let us ponder just a moment what darkness means.  Darkness can be defined as the absence of light.  It is the absence of color.  It is the absence of perspective.  Darkness is a picture of our lives before we know Christ as Savior.  Read John 3:19-20, John 12:35 and 46, 1 John 2:11, Colossians 1:13, and Ephesians 6:12.  Into this world of darkness Jesus came bringing with Him the light of God's love.  Job wrote: When His lamp shone over my head, and by His light I walked through darkness (Job 29:3).  David expressed that truth this way: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? (Psalm 27:1).  The Apostle John wrote these words: And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). 

To grasp the significance of this statement of Jesus we need to remember that He was in Jerusalem during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.  That makes it the fall of the year.  On the evening of the first day of the Feast a ceremonial lighting occurred in the Court of the Women.  Four great candelabras were lit as darkness encroached upon the Temple with the resulting blaze so intense that historians state it shone throughout Jerusalem and even to the Mount of Olives.  After this ceremony there occurred the dancing and rejoicing because the light had penetrated the darkness.  Jesus' statement is His way of saying, "I am the light of the world, and, for the man who follows Me there will be light, not only for one exciting night, but for all the nights of his life.  The light in the Temple is a brilliant light, but in the end it flickers and dies.  I am the Light which lasts for ever and ever."

Now there is something unique that ties together the sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters of John's Gospel.  In chapter six, you remember Jesus said that He was the bread of life, a reference to the manna that Israel ate during their years in the wilderness.  In chapter seven, Jesus referred to Himself as the water of life, a reference to the water that came from the smitten rock at Sinai.  And here in chapter eight, Jesus says that He is the light of the world, a reference to the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire that guided Israel during their days in the wilderness.  We read of that pillar of fire these words: And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night (Exodus 13:21).  What was the function of the pillar of fire?  First of all, it provided guidance for the people.  Israel did not know the way through the wilderness but God did and so they had to follow Him.  When the pillar moved they had to move, no matter who desirable the campsite was.  The people always had to be ready to leave; a reminder that our roots are not to be planted here.  And God's leading was to unknown places: to a Red Sea - a place of anxiety; to a Marah - a place of frustration; to a Elim - a place of prosperity.  Secondly, the pillar of fire shielded the people, offering them protection from the heat of the day and the cold of the night.  Thirdly, it gave the people light.

Jesus Christ is our light.  Back to John 8:12.  Notice three truths.  First - "He who follows Me..."  We must put Christ first in our lives.  He must hold the position of Leader, Guide, and King.  We are to follow Jesus as a soldier follows his leader.  We are to follow Jesus as a slave accompanied his master, always ready to serve him.  A Christian is a person who guides his or her life and his or her conduct by the counsel of Christ.  To be a follower of Jesus is to give ones body, soul and spirit into the obedience of the Master.  Second - "shall not walk in the darkness..."  We shall not walk in the darkness of ignorance and error; not in the darkness of perplexity and confusion; not in the darkness of joylessness and depression.  We shall know the joy of living as God intended for us to live.  And, finally - "but shall have the light of life."  Light is essential for things to grow.  We, too, must have light if we are to grow in our lives for the Lord.  Apart from Christ we are doomed to wither and die.

"I am the light of the world."  Because Jesus is the light, we can shine as lights for Him.  Remember these words of the Apostle Paul - Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world (Philippians 2:14-15). I close with the words to that little chorus we sang as children growing up: This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine...let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does.  Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine.  (D. L. Moody)