Guest
Speaker 8/24/08
How Bright is Your Light? –
John 1:14
Audio Sermon
How Bright is Your
Light?
by George Boose
"The Word became flesh and made
His dwelling among us" (John 1:14)
In his beautiful Gospel, the Apostle John begins with
these words of introduction: “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that
has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John
1:1-4). Christ, of course, is the light of the world – the light of men. And the
fifth verse continues, “The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5). And obviously, that
is still the case in our world today. The disbelievers – the darkness of the
world – do not understand. But Jesus brings spiritual light to those who will
accept Him. Jesus said it Himself, “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).
On down in the 14th verse of John 1, we have the entire
Christmas story in miniature: “The Word became flesh and
made His dwelling among us” (John l:14). I love John’s writing here as he
summarizes so profoundly and in such few words the fulfillment of God’s
magnificent plan to send His only Son to earth to live and die as a human being.
We marvel at the mystery: Why did God allow Jesus to come to us as a mere man?
Once upon a time, I love stories that begin like that – Once upon a time there
was an old country preacher who lived on a little farm in the great Midwest. He
had a comfortable little cottage and a barn for a few animals. One winter
evening a storm suddenly blew up. It came so quickly and unexpectedly that even
the animals and birds were caught unaware. As the old preacher sat protected
inside his home he noticed that a flock of sparrows were pounding up against his
sliding glass door that looked out onto the patio. Caught out in the open when
the chilling winds of the storm hit, the birds were desperately seeking shelter
and were attracted by the light inside the house.
The preacher recognized the peril facing the sparrows,
so he immediately raced out into the wind and cold to open the door to his barn
and turn on the lights in an effort to provide a safe haven for the birds. As he
stood by the barn trying to attract the birds, they just continued to fly around
in a panic. Then he realized that because he was so big compared to the
sparrows, he frightened them away from entering the safety of the barn. For an
instant he thought, “Dear God, if I was but the size of a
sparrow I could show the birds the way to the light and safety.” At that
moment the preacher found the answer to a question that had bothered him for
many years: “Why did our all powerful and tremendous God
send a tiny baby into the world to show us the way to the light and salvation?”
The preacher tried to save the birds by turning the
light on in the barn. When that wasn’t working he thought if he could just
emulate – be like – a bird himself, he could show the other birds the way to the
light and safety. The preacher certainly understood the essential principles. As
Christians we have a responsibility to light the way for others to salvation.
But to be successful, we also must know and use the proper techniques. The old
preacher initially tried to show the birds the saving light in the barn. We need
to show people the light of life – Jesus the Christ. Jesus says it so perfectly:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Remember what else Jesus 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).
I think we know the essentials – show people the light
of life, show them Jesus. But what is the best way to do it? We need to show
them Jesus living in us. We need to emulate – to be like – Jesus to the best of
our ability. The rules are so easy to understand, and so difficult to fulfill.
How do we act, how do we live to show the light of Jesus in our lives? Jesus
told us, “…Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew
22:39). You knew the answer, we all did, but now we must do it. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” (Luke
6:31). Produce the fruits of the Spirit in your life – “…love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self
control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Let’s take a look at our “miniature Christmas story” one
more time: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling
among us…” (John 1:14). It is fascinating to contemplate the “light” from heaven, God’s own Son, coming as a baby, born
to a young Hebrew girl named Mary.
Babies are precious – babies are blessed bundles of joy
– and we all know that is especially true of grand babies. but no matter how
precious, how wonderful a baby appears, from a hardhearted, calculating
viewpoint – babies are just small, helpless, powerless and we could almost say
insignificant objects. How can they be so weak and yet so important?
One time the legendary Lawrence of Arabia brought
several Arab chieftains to Paris for a peace conference. These leaders from the
desert were amazed by all the sights of a modern city like Paris. However, what
astonished them the most was the running water available in their rooms. In
their sun-scorched land of sand dunes, nothing was more precious than water.
When they were finally preparing to leave the conference and return home,
Lawrence was made aware of a problem. He immediately rushed to the rooms
occupied by these Arabs and realized that they were trying to disconnect the
faucets to take back with them. The Arabs had misunderstood the mystery of the
water faucets. The faucets themselves were actually just small, powerless,
insignificant tools – their greatness came from the huge reservoirs of water to
which they were connected. The power, the importance of the faucets, came from
what stood behind them. The supremacy of Jesus – the baby, the child, the man –
comes not from His flesh and blood, but from all the power of heaven which
stands behind Him – to that which He is firmly connected.
Satan knows the power behind the man called Jesus.
During the temptation of Christ while He fasted for 40-days, the devil took
Jesus to the top of the temple and sneered, “If You are
the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw Yourself down. For it is written, He will
command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so
that You will not strike Your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6). Satan
is fully aware of the power behind Jesus in heaven.
In the midst of the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane,
one of the disciples drew his sword, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s
servant. Jesus immediately healed the wound and proclaimed, “Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put
at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).
Jesus knew the power that was connected to Him – all the might and majesty of
our awesome, all-powerful God.
Just as the old preacher wanted to have a bright light
in his barn to be a saving beacon to the sparrows – Jesus wants the world to see
and recognize His saving light. Jesus Christ is the light of the world –
beckoning people everywhere to come to Him. It is our job to help people find
their way to that saving light. And we can do that by shining ourselves. How
bright is our light? Can others see it clearly in the way we live, or are we
somewhat dim, maybe even dark, a black light that robs the world of the sunshine.
Jesus told us, “You are the light
of the world. A city 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 men, that
they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew
5:14-15).
Somebody might say – hopefully none of you – “I can’t begin telling people about Jesus now. I can’t start to
live a better life – loving my neighbor – practicing the Golden Rule. It’s too
late! I’m too set in my ways! You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”
Nonsense! It’s not too late. No one can go back and make a brand new start. But
anyone, all of us, can start now and make a grand new ending. Do it today in
Jesus.
Light a little candle and put it where it shows. Don’t
it just amaze you to see how much it glows. The Lord has called upon you to make
a little spark, to shine His light so others might come in from the dark. Shine
your light for Jesus – light your candle – it’s never too late! Lord,
light our "candle" - Help us trust in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
From Sermons for Seniors" by George Boose – narrated by Ron Beckham.
Used with permission of the author.
