Jesus Came to Light Up My Life

In 1 John 2:8 I read, “The darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.” (TLB)

Why does God talk so much about light in the Bible? Because God is light. When he is Savior and Lord of my life, the light of his love gives me hope in the dark days: “The darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in” (1 John 2:8 TLB). 

Am I ready to exchange my darkness and the dark days I’m going through for God’s light? This is what Christmas is all about! Jesus came to light up my life.

Jesus didn’t come alive at Christmas. He has always existed, because he’s God: “Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God” (John 1:1 TLB). Jesus has been in existence for eternity. He created everything. Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. His life is the light that shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

When I try to live my life without God, I live it in the dark. It’s why things don’t make sense, because I don’t have the illumination of the Holy Spirit at work in my life. It’s why I’m burdened with negative emotions. It’s why I’m not healed of the brokenness in my life. And it’s why I stopped growing.

This Christmas, it’s time to flip the switch and let the light of Christ into my life, not just for my dark days but for all my days.

To trade darkness for light in my life? I Pray, “Dear God, I’ve had many dark days in my life, and I know now that I need your light in my life. I need your light to heal me, guide me, comfort me, and warm me. I confess that I have sinned against you, and I ask for your forgiveness. I need your light to help me grow. As much as I know how, Jesus Christ, I open my life to the light of your love. I want to accept you as God’s Christmas gift to me. I want to learn to follow you and trust you. And I humbly ask you to accept me into your family by grace, not because I deserve it but because I put my faith in your love and your light. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

In summary, I need to allow the darkness in my life to disappear and the new light of life in Christ shine in. God is light. When he is Savior and Lord of my life, the light of his love gives me hope in the dark days. Am I ready to exchange my darkness and the dark days I’m going through for God’s light? This is what Christmas is all about! Jesus came to light up my life. Jesus has always existed, because he’s God. Jesus has been in existence for eternity. He created everything. Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. When I try to live my life without God, I live it in the dark. It’s why things don’t make sense. It’s why I’m burdened with negative emotions. It’s why I’m not healed of the brokenness in my life. And it’s why I stopped growing. It’s time to flip the switch and let the light of Christ into my life, not just for my dark days but for all my days. “Dear God, I’ve had many dark days in my life, and I know now that I need your light in my life. I need your light to heal me, guide me, comfort me, and warm me. I confess that I have sinned against you, and I ask for your forgiveness. I need your light to help me grow. As much as I know how, I open my life to the light of your love. I want to accept you as God’s Christmas gift to me. I want to learn to follow you and trust you. And I humbly ask you to accept me into your family by grace, not because I deserve it but because I put my faith in your love and your light.”

The commandment to love others is both old and new. It is old because it comes from the Old Testament. It is new because Jesus interpreted it in a radically new way. In the Christian church, love is not only expressed by showing respect; it is also expressed through self-sacrifice and servant-hood. In fact, it can be defined as "selfless giving," reaching beyond friends to enemies and persecutors. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Love is the key to walking in the light, because I cannot grow spiritually while I hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationships with others.  

How to Fight Darkness with Light

In Romans 12:21 I read, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NIV)

There’s nothing more counter-cultural in the world today than responding to evil with good. And because it’s so counter-cultural, it can be one of the hardest things to do.

When there’s a bully trying to make trouble in my life, I need to respond positively. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21 NIV).

It’s a step of faith. Everything in me wants to overcome evil with evil and fight darkness with more darkness. That’s what the world tells and teaches me to do: Fight dirty. That’s why it takes faith to go against what my flesh and culture are telling me to do and instead trust in God and respond to darkness with his light.

I fight darkness with light, hatred with love, and unkindness with kindness. I don’t let evil overcome me. I overcome evil with good.

It's tough to do. But it gets even tougher as Jesus also tells me to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 NIV).

Is that easy? No. Is it unusual? It is a choice. It’s my choice to be better than the bully. Choosing light over darkness means walking the way of Jesus. And Jesus wouldn’t just walk away from a fight and forget. He would lay down his life if that’s what he needed to do to show how much he loves someone, and that’s exactly what he did.

God doesn’t want me to retaliate. He wants me to do good. He wants me to show love to even the hardest hearts by praying for them and asking God to give them hearts like his. Jesus gave us the greatest example of responding in love and praying for enemies. When I follow his example, I’m going to stand out in a world where everyone thinks of themselves first.

Taking the step of faith to overcome evil with good will not always be easy, but it will make me a powerful witness for Jesus.

In summary, do not be overcome by evil, rather overcome evil with good. There’s nothing more counter-cultural than responding to evil with good. It can be one of the hardest things to do. When trouble comes, I need to take a step of faith to respond positively. However, everything in me wants to overcome evil with evil and fight darkness with more darkness. I fight darkness with light, hatred with love, and unkindness with kindness. It gets even tougher as Jesus also tells me to: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. It’s my choice to be better than the bully. Choosing light over darkness means walking the way of Jesus, and Jesus would lay down his life if that’s what he needed to do to show how much he loves someone, and is exactly what he did. God doesn’t want me to retaliate. He wants me to do good. He wants me to show love to even the hardest hearts by praying for them and asking God to give them hearts like his. Jesus provided me with the greatest example. When I follow his example, I’m going to stand out in a world where everyone thinks of themselves first. Taking the step of faith to overcome evil with good will not always be easy, but it will make me a powerful witness for Jesus.

Changing my heart for those who have wronged or overlooked me is a key learning from today’s study. It’s much easier to fight fire with fire than it is to be a cool and refreshing breeze. I need not worry about getting even as God will settle the score. My role is to be like Jesus and be an example of a life that follows him. Father, I ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind this when I face situations such as these so that I can respond in line with how you want me to. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership and my interactions with others. I pray these things through your Son Jesus’ name, Amen.