“His origin is from antiquity, from eternity” (Micah 5:2b, HCSB).
Jesus is and was God. John said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4).
As believers, it is critical that we realize that Jesus didn’t have His beginning as the tiny baby placed by the Holy Spirit within Mary. He was and is the Living “Word,” and “He was with God from the beginning.”
“Beginning” of what? Time as we know it, the world as we know it. And even once we’ve grasped this, we need to understand that this is NOT the point at which Jesus’ life started – this was the moment in which CREATION was started. Remember what Jesus told the Jews? “I assure you: before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
Catch the tense Jesus used: “I am.” Jesus, being God, has never NOT existed – He always was, always is and always will be. And yet you can’t separate any of these phrases or tenses and really make an accurate statement about Him – all of them apply simultaneously.
As we move toward a new year, I hope you’ll think long and hard about what it means for Jesus to be “the light of men.” John 1:5 goes on to say that “that light shines in the darkness.”
For each and every one of us, there was a time when our lives were in “darkness.” Only the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, could place His Internal Light, the Holy Spirit, into us and transform us into His likeness. And having done that, then what?
Well, let’s see. If we were transformed into His likeness, what does that make us? The “light [that] shines in the darkness!” I’m a firm believer that the spiritual and the practical don’t necessarily contradict – in fact, that they can go hand-in-hand. So, looking from a practical viewpoint, let’s say that we’re all spiritual flashlights.
Now, having visualized ourselves as spiritual flashlights, what makes us work? What makes us “light?” Number One, we each need a bulb – the actual “light” that makes a flashlight what it is. Jesus, of course, is that “Light.”
Number Two, we need batteries. That, my friends, is the indwelling Holy Spirit. And being indwelling, that means He needs a receptacle in which to be placed; and that, beloved, is US.
So, having received our “Light,” we have become willing receptacles for our batteries, which is the indwelling Holy Spirit; in other words, we’ve become equipped. To do what? “Light… the darkness.”
How much good is a flashlight if it doesn’t shine? None whatsoever. Deep thought here, folks: do you have to take the batteries out of a flashlight in order for it to no longer be functional? No, you can be a totally ineffective flashlight simply by neglecting to keep them charged.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t fizzle out, leak out, or walk out – He remains, but His power is evidenced, is available, in our lives only as we continually “recharge” through regular prayer, Bible study and fellowship with other believers.
Where is the “darkness?” Anywhere Jesus isn’t shining. Your life, my brother or sister in Christ, is an assignment, a calling, to be Jesus wherever you are. And that makes you “light.” Charge up, then charge out, and shine for His glory.
“Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
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