Letting the Light Shine

Today I had the opportunity of worshipping with an emerging church plant called The Center. It was great getting to know new people with similar hearts.

The leader shared some thoughts from John 12:44-50. He focused on verse 46: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (NIV).

First of all, I find this a very powerful proclamation of Jesus declaring himself to be the Messiah. In Isaiah 49:6, referring to His Messiah, God states, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth" (NIV). This statement would have induced quite a bit of fervor among the crowd. This description of the Messiah was well known to the Jews of Jesus' day.

But that is a side note. In the discussion, we talked about how darkness is not an entity unto itself. It is simply the absence of light. We talked about letting that light shine into all corners of our lives. And then the pastor asked the question, "What does it mean to give things over to Jesus?" (roughly paraphrased). It got me thinking. It is not enough just to turn on the light to see the problems, make a list of things to do, and start the process of cleaning. Those areas don't just need to be "cleaned" in the Light; they need to be inhabited with faithful actions. A parable that Jesus tells comes to mind, from Luke 11:24-26 (NIV):

24"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

I think The Message gives a good idea of the gist of the statement:

"When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn't find anyone, it says, 'I'll go back to my old haunt.' On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place."

Vacant. I like how The Message phrases that. Our lives can be as "clean" as can be, but if it is vacant, if we are not letting the Spirit inhabit every part of our lives, there is still an absence of light, and more evil can sneak back. In fact, having one problem is better than getting rid of the problem, cleaning up an area of life, and then still leaving it free of God.

To me, giving something over to Jesus doesn't just mean letting the light shine onto the dark corners so that I can see them to clean them. It means cleaning it up and letting Jesus dwell there. How? I don't know. By putting prayer prominently in the newly cleaned area? Changing language? Changing routines? Beginning new actions in that area? I have much to meditate on.