Choosing the Light

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” (Luke 11:33-36 NIV)

In this passage, Jesus refers metaphorically to the "eye"as the lamp of our body, through which the light is received. When our eye is healthy, the light can come in unimpaired and our body is filled with light. When our eyes are damaged by cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, or other diseases of the eye, the light that enters is reduced and the images we see are distorted. Rather than filling us with light, they can, in a way, fill us with darkness because the light is not allowed to enter.

This principle has become extremely clear to me because of my neighbor, who has a chronic problem with double vision. To hammer a nail, he pounds repeatedly in the general direction of the nail, hoping to hit it occasionally and thereby drive the nail into the board. It is extremely inefficient and fraught with difficulty. Very few nails are successfully hammered into place.

When I have clarity of vision in my spiritual eyes, the light of truth can enter unimpaired and fill me. Just as having light in a room allows me to move about freely, so the light in my life also allows me to move in freedom as I live the life Christ expected me to live. 

"What is the sign that God expects from us for the evidencing of our faith?" Matthew Henry asked. His answer, "The serious practice of that religion which we profess to believe, and a readiness to entertain (or embrace) all divine truths when brought to us in their proper evidence." 

God expects me to live out the faith I claim and to embrace His truth when it is revealed to me. I am to live like I say I believe if I am to please God and demonstrate His grace and mercy to the world. Obedience is not optional. 

That living requires "clear eyes" that are not clouded or darkened by the distortion sin causes. It requires that I allow the light of Christ to fill me. Imagine for a moment having a life that is filled with light, no darkness at all. 

Selah. Pause and consider.

If I embrace the truth I know, rejecting the sin I prefer, I can be a shining example of God's grace to those around me, much like a lamp shining in a darkened room. I can be, if I choose to be.

Therein is the problem. CHOICE. Will I choose light or darkness? Will you choose light or darkness? We can't have both. If you and I are to live as those who have been redeemed, we must choose the light, allow it to fill us, and live accordingly. We cannot continue to reserve even a tiny bit of darkness for our own pleasure. 

Just as Joshua told the Israelites as they stood on the brink of the promised land. There is a choice to be made, and it changes everything.

If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15 NASB)

Radical obedience

But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:10-11 NIV)

Our detour through Jonah is just about at an end, but it would be a shame to miss the finale. 

As you know, Jonah was a runaway prodigal because God had instructed him to go to Nineveh and he refused. Jonah was prejudiced against Israel's enemy, the Assyrians, and he hated the people of Nineveh. Ultimately, God put Jonah in a tight spot (the belly of a big fish) and Jonah relented. He agreed to obey God, but with an "I don't have to like it" attitude. Jonah did not have a burning desire for the repentance and transformation of Nineveh. He didn't care about the people. He was simply trying to get out of trouble with God by his obedience. It is surprising to me, but God blessed the grudging obedience.

After everyone had repented and God had relented, Jonah pouted and was angry with God. I often wonder why God would have used Jonah at all, and then I remember that He chooses to use me. Jonah's fruit is a reminder that God can use anyone, including you and me. 

While he was pouting, Jonah went outside the city, built a little shelter, and sat in the shade. God made a vine grow up over Jonah to give him better shade. Jonah was happy about the vine but, when God allowed a worm to chew the plant so that it withered, Jonah was angry. God blessed Jonah with a hot sun and a blistering wind. Jonah was irate.

God responded with words that cut to the heart. "You care so much about the plant I created. Shouldn't I care about the people I created? (Leanna Paraphrase) 

Indeed. 

Aren't we just like Jonah? I sometimes care more about the plants and "stuff" in my life than I do the people God has entrusted to me. Surely not, you may say, but a quick look at my daily life will make that clear. I hate this, but it's true. I have a little garden. Every day I check my plants, look for bugs, water them, mulch them, trim away diseased leaves. Every day my plants receive tender, consistent care and they are thriving under my care.

There are lots of people in my life, but very few of them receive consistent, tender attention on a daily basis. I care a great deal about the plants in my garden, but do I attend to the people in my life with that same attention? 

Do I care about people the way God cares about people? Lost people? I have to admit that I do not. I am burdened for the people in my life with fractured, broken lives. I am burdened for the people of the world who are trapped in lifestyles of violence, terror, abuse, hopelessness. It's not that I don't care at all, but that I don't care like God cares. 

In an awful, shameful way, I don't want to care like God cares. I don't want to care because it will require change on my part. Perhaps that's what keeps you from God-care, too. Caring like God cares might require me to get outside my comfort zone, go somewhere unpleasant to minister in the name of Jesus, deny myself something in order to provide for others. I might have to do more, face my fears, take a risk.

I hesitate. But Jonah. Jonah didn't want to go, but he did, and God changed the history of 120,000 people who didn't know their right from their left. He used Jonah's radical, grudging obedience to bless His own people fifty years later. 

What would God do with my sacrifice if I opted for radical obedience? How would He change the world if I were willing to go when He says go, speak when He says speak, care when He says care, love when He says love? How would God change the world if you and I were willing to follow Him with radical obedience? 

If we are to deny ourselves daily, take up our cross, and follow Him, and we are, then perhaps it is past time for the kind of obedience that says, "Sure, God. Take me to the meanest, toughest, most lost people on earth and love them through me." It's not the people who don't know God who are making our world such a dark place. It's the ones of us who know God but fail to shine our light in the darkness. We are the ones who have allowed the darkness to persist. 

Today, let's offer ourselves to God, willing to follow wherever He leads, love whomever He loves, give whatever He requires. Be the light in the darkness and let God shine through you.

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30 NASB)

We're on a detour in order to better understand the sign of Jonah. Yesterday, we stopped at the point where Jonah had begun to see that "sorry" did not make it all better. The sailors had said, "Jonah, this storm is your fault," and he had said, "Yes, it is." Those irate and frightened sailors had a few questions for him, starting with, "If you believe in the God of the universe like you say you do, how could you do this?" Jonah found that his actions spoke much louder than his words.

After I posted the blog yesterday, I realized that those sailors had tried to do something Jonah should have considered. 

Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. (Jonah 1:5 NASB)

When the storm arose, admittedly a whopper of a storm, the sailors were terrified. The first action the sailors took was to cry to their god. These men were not worshipping Jehovah, but they instinctively knew that only a powerful god could save them. They turned to the god they knew best in their time of need. Some probably worshipped Baal, some Molech, or another of the gods of the time. Every man, however, turned first to that which they worshipped for help.

In a way, that's our problem, too. When trouble begins to come our way, we turn first to that god we know best. It may be that we look to ourselves and our own ability to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps". Others look to chemical aid (drugs, alcohol, food). There are some who turn to friends, family, even the law for aid. 

Those pagan sailors turned first to the god they knew. When that medley of gods didn't save them, they turned to themselves and began to lighten the load by throwing the cargo overboard. When the storm continued unabated, they realized that in which they trusted was not adequate to deliver them. 

When the storms of life come our way, we will instinctively do exactly what those sailors did. We will turn to that which sustains us in the easy times. If our trust is not in Almighty God, we, too, will find ourselves unable to weather the storm. If you, like me, have ever gone through one of those times when life is filled with turmoil and uncertainty, you know the truth of this. When my trust is in myself, I have a poor deliverer. 

If we want to successfully weather the storms of life, we must prepare in advance by placing our trust in the only One who can guide us through and calm the storm. We must practice faith in Him on a daily basis. Then, when crisis comes, and we turn instinctively to the One we trust the most, we will find an anchor that holds and help that is able to deliver.

The psalmist wrote that God is our "very present help in time of trouble." (Psalm 46:1) When our faith is in Him, that help is where we turn first. When we do, we will find His help is exactly what we need.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)

Actions speak louder than words

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30 NASB)

We are taking a brief detour to take a closer look at the sign of Jonah. Our study yesterday left Jonah at the point where the sailors said, "This storm is your fault" and Jonah agreed, "Yes, it is." That point of owning your failures is a freeing place and can be a first step in healing. 

One of the problems I see is that we want everything to be "fixed" immediately when we confess our fault. That's not quite how things work. When I confess my sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). That forgiveness is immediate. Working through the consequences of my choice, my sin, however, is not, as Jonah soon learned. Those who suffer from my choices have to work through the consequences of my choice, as well.

The sailors had three very pointed questions for Jonah. The first was, "Who are you?" In light of his prodigal attempt at escape from God, Jonah gave a surprising answer. "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."

That answer shocked the sailors. "If that's who you are and the God you fear, why would you try to escape from Him?" Jonah had no answer. 

Their question is one the world asks us as believers on a daily basis. If you believe what you say you do, why don't your actions match up? Indeed. It's something we will likely struggle with until we enter eternity. This business of obedience has always been hard for us as humans, but it has never been optional. 

If we believe what we say we believe, our actions must match our words. If we believe that the words of Christ are truth, we must forgive those who hurt us, care for the poor, pray for our enemies, love our neighbor as ourselves. We must do what Jesus said to do. 

If we do not obey, our failure says something about our belief, doesn't it?

The third question the sailors asked Jonah was equally probing. "What does this mean for us? What should we do?" The world asks the same question of us as believers. "If your actions don't match what you say you believe, what do you expect of us?" 

It's a scary thought. When the world looks at those of us who claim to be Christian and find that our actions are no different from theirs, it's no wonder that they question us. It is no wonder that they doubt the validity of our faith and decline our invitation to join us. If we are to be light in a dark world, we must offer light that is recognizable by the lives we live. 

Standing on the deck of that ship as a storm raged around him, Jonah came face to face with the failure of his faith and his testimony, as well as the struggle of those who suffered with him. When questions came, he was sadly bereft of answers. 

For today, let's spend some time examining our lifestyle in the light of the what we say we believe. Do they match in a way that is recognizable to those around us? Can the world see that we believe the words of Christ by the way that we live? If not, what changes do we need to make? What does our choice of actions say about our faith? 

My mama always said, "Your actions speak louder than words." She was right. Let's be sure our actions say what we meant for them to say.

Seeking a Sign

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:29-32 NASB)

By this point in His ministry, Jesus had done quite a few mind-boggling miracles. He'd raised a dead boy on his way to the grave, and a dead girl while the mourners wept. He'd fed a multitude, given sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and healing to untold numbers of people. News had spread throughout the nation. Crowds had begun to gather and were increasing daily. 

Jesus knew that the crowds were not there to hear His simple sermons with tough challenges. They had not come in search of ways to love their neighbor or forgive their enemies. They wanted to see a sign, a miracle that would prove His power. 

Lest I seem to condemn the crowds, I have to admit that, if I had heard the news that Jesus did miracles, I'd have wanted to see a miracle, too. I'd prefer to console myself by saying that the miracle would have drawn me, but the truth would have kept me. The reality is that's pride talking. 

I hate to confess this, but I would have been the one saying, "I thought they said He did miracles. All He's done so far is talk." Someone in the crowd might have whispered, "He does the miracles at the end." I might have waited to see. If there were no miracles, though, I would not have gone back. I want to see to believe, and it is a distinct disadvantage in matters of faith.

At last, Jesus confronted the crowds. "This generation is wicked... it seeks a sign. No sign will be given except the sign of Jonah." Jonah's ministry had been centuries earlier. It was "old news", and must have seemed like an odd sign. 

What the crowds couldn't know was that Jesus would give them the most important sign of all. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, apparently lost forever, Jesus would be in the "belly of the earth" for three days. It would appear that He, too, was dead and gone, all hope lost. 

At the point where despair was about to overtake all hope, Jesus would arise, conquering death and sin. The Sign of Jonah would become obvious. It hadn't happened yet, and Jesus didn't explain. Instead of words, He would show them the sign of a risen Savior.

Later, Jesus would say, "You believe in God, believe also in Me." When He walked out of the tomb, many did believe, but not everyone. 

The crowds of Jesus' day wanted signs rather than truth. They wanted to be entertained, not challenged and changed. Are we any different? What is it that we want from Jesus? Do we want signs and entertainment or truth, challenge, and change?

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Never once did He suggest we should stay the same. He said we were to be light in the darkness, and that begins by replacing our own darkness with His light. 

Today, let us pray that the sign we seek would be that of a redeemed and transformed life, that we, too, might shine bright in the darkness that surrounds us.