I am the Light of the World

This is the second "I AM" statement in the Gospel of John. I wrote about "I am the bread of life" last week. When Jesus made this declaration, it happened after he saved the life of a woman caught in adultery in the temple courts (John 8). Her accusers brought this woman in front of Jesus to trap Him. They asked Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” (John 8:4-5). It seemed that if Jesus had said anything other than agreeing with them on the death penalty they would accuse Him on teaching against the Law of Moses. Instead Jesus wisely asked them a question: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7b) Jesus' question seemed to affirm two important principles: (1) The Law of Moses made it clear that the punishment for sin was death; (2) He also knew that we all have sins in our lives. When the woman's accusers heard Jesus, they were convicted of their own sinfulness and left her, starting with the older ones (presumably they lived longer and knew better their own sinful state).

I think Jesus is the answer to every moral question we have! He helps us think through some of the most basic questions about life - who are we, why are we here, where are we going... When we look to Him to find answers for the most difficult questions in our lives He is able to illuminate our hearts and minds and come to the right decision for ourselves. Therefore He is right to say “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). I have gone through life without any purpose or direction - through spiritual darkness, and Jesus has shown me the way lots of times. I can think of times when I felt discouraged, lost in my self-pitying, carrying the burden of guilt because of my own sins, worrying  about the future, I just went back to Jesus and He comforted me, forgave me of my sins, and gave me hope.

Because of Jesus, I am now also the light of the world:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16). That does not mean I have all the moral answers to the world's problems. But I can point the world to Jesus, who is the true light! Armed by the Holy Spirit I can be part of the solution to a better world. May God be glorified!

I am the Bread of Life

John 6 contains the first of the seven great "I Am"  statements recorded in the Gospel of John. The seven "I Am" statements are:
(1) The Bread of Life
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
(2) The Light of the World
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
(3) The Gate
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
(4) The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
(5) The Resurrection and the Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
(6) The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
(7) The Vine
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The Gospel of John is unique this way. Each of these "I Am" statements helps the readers know Jesus better using metaphors that are familiar to the listeners in His day. Even though times have changed, these symbols can still teach us great lessons about who Jesus is. Of interest, the same author for the Seven I Am article also wrote about the Seven Miracles in John. I have found this explanation very helpful as I will be reading through John's Gospel for the next few weeks:

"Due to his extensive use of symbolism John’s Gospel, written to the church, can be the most intriguing.  Everything he recorded in his gospel actually happened, but he arranged and described them in such a way as to convey additional truth beyond the obvious point of his narrative. Sometimes he even rearranged the order of events to underscore emphasize this additional truth.  John 2 is a good example of this. He placed the cleansing of the Temple right after the wedding at Cana to illustrate the point that the Lord came to create an intimate personal relationship with His church (as in a marriage), not to fix a broken religion.

The focus of John’s gospel is the Lord’s Judean ministry and really only the last part of that.  He devoted most of 9 chapters (John 12-20) to the Lord’s last week and used 1/3 of the gospel’s 879 verses to describe His last 24 hours. The first 11 chapters define the Lord’s ministry through John’s selective use of 7 miracles, and we’ll use them to show how John’s Gospel contains more than meets the eye." (A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - get his free book)

Returning to my topic for today, Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. He said this after He had just performed two great miracles - feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15) and walking on water (John 6:16-24). People were desperately looking for him and finally found him. Jesus said to them: "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." (John 6:26-27)
Here is the first lesson I learned today: my faith in Jesus is much more than seeing miracles or receiving material blessings. In Him I have found the very meaning of my existence! Using bread as a symbol for my physical life on earth, Jesus tells me (1) don`t forget - there is eternity, (2) eternal life is a gift from Him, and (3) He has the seal of approval from God - i.e. He is the very representation of God. So my life is about pursuing everything with an eternal perspective. So even as I am finding something to do in my retirement I should always ask the question: will this work have any eternal value? Will it glorify God? Will I enjoy God while I am doing it? Will it bring others to Him?

When asked “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28) Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29) That's it! Every time doubt arises in my mind whether to take anything on (in order to please God) I need to remind myself that my faith is in Jesus, whom God has sent. It`s not about what I do but more about believing in the One who has already done all the `doing`. That`s eternal life at its best.

Again, the crowd brought up the manna their forefathers had eaten in the wilderness (Exodus 16:13-18), to ask Jesus for another miracle to prove Himself! Jesus then told them (and us!) that He is the real manna! But unlike the last manna miracle whoever partakes of Him now will never again know spiritual hunger. Like the manna, every one who seeks Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7-8), but each of us has to find Him for ourselves. No one else can receive Him for us, nor can we receive Him for anyone else. We all get an amount sufficient for our salvation. No one is lacking, none of Him is wasted. He is the manna of Life! He is the true bread from heaven! No more miracle is needed. And look at these promises:

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37)

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  (John 6:39)

They will all be taught by God. (see Isaiah 54:13) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. (John 6:45)

This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51b) and yes He did, and on the cross He gave His life for me.

The Bronze Serpent - Look Up!

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." (John 3:14-15)

Three years ago I wrote a blog on "Learning to Finish Well" to commemorate the passing of two great persons - Moses and Jesus. I wrote about the "Serpentine cross" recalling the story in Numbers 21 where the Israelites were traveling towards the Red Sea after the Lord had just helped them destroy their enemies. "But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”" (Numbers 21:4-5). "This miserable food" was manna, a miraculous provision from heaven which they were complaining about! As a punishment for their impatience and ungratefulness "the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died."(Numbers 21:6). But when they repented of their sin the Lord sent them healing: "So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived." (Numbers 21:9). But they had to look up to get healed. No doubt a few died because they didn't believe in doing such a silly thing.

Here in John 3 which I was reading this morning, Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, a highly religious and educated man. He had to be very familiar with the bronze snake story. Jesus was trying to explain to him the meaning of being "born again" in order to have eternal life. Nicodemus, like most fervent believers of the Old Covenant promise, believed that all Israelites would be saved by virtue of being the descendants of Abraham (i.e. through natural birth). When the promised messiah came the Jews would become prominent on earth again (i.e. dominant militarily). But Jesus told him that the New Covenant required that he had to believe in a different kind of a messiah, one who would die on a cross bearing the sin of the world, as symbolized by a bronze snake (sin) hung on a pole. Those who would believe in that would be saved.

So once more I remind myself - have I been impatient? Have I been grumbling at God that He had not come through with His promises? Have I been jeering at God's miracles? Then look up at the cross and be healed!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

I found this Seven Wonders of John 3:16 from this commentary:

How I desire to experience this every single day of my life!

On my 65th birthday

Today is my 65th birthday. Here I am sitting on my porch enjoying the glorious morning sun and reading God's word. He blessed me with Luke 24 - Jesus Has Risen! Isn't this exactly what I need to carry me through the rest of my life's journey - that the Lord has risen? Isn't this the gospel that has saved me and that which I am to be the ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)?

"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1Corinthians 15:1-15, 14-19)

It is with the assurance that Christ was indeed raised from the dead that this verse becomes my motto to launch into new and exciting ministries after my retirement:
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
(1 Corinthians 15:58)

I posted this my favorite hymn on my Facebook to mark my retirement (YouTube):
1. Lord, in the fullness of my might,
I would for Thee be strong:
While runneth o’er each dear delight,
To Thee should soar my song.

2. I would not give the world my heart,
And then profess Thy love;
I would not feel my strength depart,
And then Thy service prove.

3. I would not with swift wingèd zeal
On the world’s errands go,
And labor up the heavenly hill
With weary feet and slow.

4. O not for Thee my weak desires,
My poorer, baser part!
O not for Thee my fading fires,
The ashes of my heart!

5. O choose me in my golden time:
In my clear joys have part!
For Thee the glory of my prime,
The fullness of my heart!

By Thomas H. Gill
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #3687

These thoughts are so precious to me. Thank you Lord for reminding me of these truths on my 65th birthday! Like these two disciples who met the Risen Christ on the Road to Emmaus; after Jesus disappeared "They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”" (Luke 24:32)
Now that's a good heart burnt to have!!!

Christians and Homosexuality

My early morning began with my usual spiritual diet - the reading of scripture following the read through the bible in a year plan, and this morning's reading was from 1 Kings 21–22; Luke 23:26-56. What jumped out at me from these passages was how the gracious Lord was still ready to forgive the evil King Ahab when he humbled himself. I then traced back to the previous chapters to remind myself all the other evil kings of Israel - Jeroboam, Baasha, and now Ahab. However, the unrepentant king will ultimately be killed in battle. The entire Luke 23 chapter described the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, the cruelest punishment reserved for the worst of criminals. It is impossible to comprehend the depravity of man and the extent of love demonstrated on the cross!

This had prepared me to listen to an hour-long podcast by Christopher Yuan at The Gospel Coalition (TGC) conference (my wife had sent the link to me the night before). I listened with tears in my eyes of his journey from being a prisoner in a penitentiary (for being a drug dealer) to becoming a preacher dedicated to help the church to open its arms to the LGBT community. It is very very good! I will listen to it again, I am sure. Lots of practical lessons on bringing the gospel to my gay friends. But most of all, he reminded me of the power of the gospel to me - a sinner saved by grace, by a loving Lord Jesus who was willing to demonstrate His love for me by dying for me (Romans 5:8), even death on the cross (Philippians 2:1-11). As long as my identity is found in Jesus, His Holy Spirit will help me in my day to day battle with the temptation to sin, of which lust and pride are high on the list. As long as my life is overflowing with the grace that comes through Jesus, I will be in a better position to help my LGBT friends to find the gospel. Although the scripture does say: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18), I will remind myself that my own salvation comes from the cross of Jesus. That's why He reminded me that "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

I just bought Christopher Yuan's book "Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope." on my Kindle. Looking forward to a good read through this week.