THE LIGHT IN YOU

Reading from Luke Ch. 11 vs 33-36

What are we consuming or how are we thinking about things? This was the question I was posed when I read this passage. From the way it starts I thought it would be the usual kind of lesson that we usually know of when it comes to lighting a lamp. The passage starts with Jesus basically saying no one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar or under a basket, basically hidden places. Instead they put it out on a stand so that anyone who enters may see. This seemed like the lesson on our faith and like that scripture on being the light on the hill, we don’t have this light of the gospel of truth in us to hide it but rather to share all its goodness so that more people may be saved. It’s like he said we aren’t lighting a lamp to hide it, what would be the point of that? Its point is so we can see, because it’s hard to see in the dark and we understand that this world is dark and we need the gospel of Jesus to help us see the truth and be aware of the enemy’s deception.

Now the stance of the passage took a different turn and I felt singled out. There’s a lot going on in my life currently and this passage was like a pointer or a reminder on what to do or what to stop doing. Jesus speaks about how the eye is the lamp of your body and if it’s healthy your whole body will be full of light but if it’s bad then your body will be full of darkness. In my silliness I had to stop myself from thinking that my eyes don’t of course light the inside of my body, they don’t even light up my head really. But with that same logic you get the answer or the meaning of what he is trying to put across, of course the eyes don’t light up the body how a torch does but rather what the eyes do is help you see things. And I believe he isn’t just speaking about your eyes but your mind too, your eyes and your mind as a collective help you see or consume information. They also help you form how you think about things or how you see and interact with the world and those around you.

So him saying that if they are bad the whole body will be full of darkness or healthy and the body full of light, he is really directing us to the topic of renewing our minds or the way we think. We consume a lot of things and they shape how we think and process things, if we constantly consume evil or think negatively we end up affecting our whole being. We lose hope, our mood is affected, our thoughts get pessimistic and over time we can lead ourselves to sickness among other things. This is the darkness, that’s like the psychological way I can speak about it but the one we might highlight is a life where your daily consummation is sinful things. All you think about is sin and wrong doing, it becomes a norm and your behaviours are directed towards evil things. What’s sad about this here is the world we live in today is like this or the enemy has made sure we are deceived and the lines are blurred. So now we consume evil but we don’t even know it, we live our lives doing evil but we can’t even catch or notice it. That’s why the word speaks about people living in darkness, it’s a good word to use because it describes a state where we can barely see, we are as good as blind and that’s what it’s like when we don’t have the light of the gospel of Christ in our lives. We assume that we can see but really we can’t.

So think of those two things mixed together and you basically have the understanding of what he means by if your eyes are bad your whole being will be full of darkness. As I said earlier I’m struggling right now and I’ve been trying to hold on to hope but as the days go by yes I trust God but it’s getting harder to hold on. Over the years I know that it’s easy for me to get hit with discouragement and doubt, I’m usually very stubborn or very certain about decisions and what I want to do but currently I don’t even have that. So I feel myself deteriorate and getting dejected and the darkness within me grow, I’ve been feeling unworthy even though I understand that it’s not about that and all I’m feeling yes valid is really just believing lies. This passage highlighted that what I’m taking in and that the ways that I’m thinking are not helping my state. Jesus does of course warn that the light in us shouldn’t be darkness and so how really can we help our eyes be healthy? He provided the solution to how I/we can help our eyes be better or have our minds renewed

Same as with the bad eyes it’s about what we actually take in, if those are the things that might make your body get full of darkness, then to be full of light and make our eyes healthy we must do the opposite. We must be reading the word of God and surround ourselves with the things of him, we must be hopeful and trust in God even if it doesn’t look like things will get better. It’s of course not that easy, we must be deliberate about putting the words and teachings of Christ actively in our lives, if we live in a world where evil is the norm then to do good seems like a thing that might isolate you or make others look at you like you’re doing something strange. But fear not, we have around us other believers in Jesus, whether from our churches, friend groups or on the internet. We should seek encouragement from them and their being in the faith and practicing the word of God. We should try to have good practices and habits with regards to our mental health and how we live, being more intentional about what we consume on media and trying to address the real reasons why we think and feel certain ways and try to change those things. If anything the bible and Holy Spirit do helps us really address the things in our hearts and can and will help us change and have our minds transformed and renewed. So we must always read the word and speak with God.

And Jesus ends by telling us what happens when our bodies are full of light and having no part in darkness, he says we will be wholly bright like when a lamp gives out its rays of light. The thing is how our eyes are often shows in how we carry ourselves and are about things. How we treat others and how we process what is happening to us, if we become wholly bright it means we’ve gotten or are getting to a point where we are fully allowing the word of God to wash us and direct our thoughts and actions. It will help us be that good light on the hill that people come to and help us share the Good news of Christ better because now it’s not just something we talk about but some way we think and go about our personal lives. Because of the times we live in we have to be deliberate about having healthy eyes and being wholly bright, it might not happen instantly but it needs to be something we work on especially when things are difficult. Jesus wants us to shine for our good and so others can see his light through us but its starts from us working on how we see things, how we think and what’s in our hearts. He is here to help you but do pay attention to what you consume and what you dwell on, it is affecting you and all the light you could actually be. Remember Jesus loves you!