Illumination or Intimidation?

Light can be so helpful. Who hasn’t tried to walk through a dark room, maybe to go to the bathroom or to check on a kid in the middle of the night, and inadvertently kicked the dresser or stepped on a Lego block? Now you're in pain, something that never would have happened if the light had been on.

What about trying to drive at night, especially out in the country where it is really dark. You’re unsure of where the road curves, or where you’re supposed to turn, and addresses are nearly impossible to see. A little illumination from street lights or house lights would be so helpful.

Light can also be very harsh and blinding. What if you were walking or driving in the dark and someone suddenly flipped on a huge floodlight in your face? That would not help you see your way; instead, it would temporarily blind you.

Think about crime interrogation scenes in movies. The alleged perpetrator sits in a dark room with a bare, harsh light overhead, and accusing voices come from the darkness asking where they were on the night of the crime, for the purpose of intimidating the one being interrogated.

Jesus says that we are “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14), but what kind of light are we? We are to be a reflection of Jesus, “the true light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). But do we tend to illuminate or intimidate?

I have been going through the gospel of John in my personal quiet time, one chapter per day. Yesterday, I read through chapter 3, which contains one of the most (or perhaps the most) familiar verses in the Bible. Even many non-Christians are aware of John 3:16. You know it. It’s one of those passages I memorized as a child, and like Psalm 23, it usually comes to mind in the KJV. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

I don’t think many of us are very familiar with the verses that follow this well-known passage. Verses 19-21 really struck me as a description of our culture and our jobs as “the light of the world.”

“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (John 3:19-21 NIV).

People love the darkness because it covers them and allows them to do what they want to do and act however they choose. Jesus is the true light and the truth, and we are called to reflect that light and shine it into this dark world. 

We must be careful not to dim that light so that we blend in with the dark world, not illuminating the darkness at all. But we must also be careful not to shine a blinding floodlight into people’s faces, intimidating them and driving them away. We need to be a gentle light that gradually grows brighter, allowing others to see and benefit from the light and love of Jesus, and allowing the Holy Spirit to be the One who convicts. 

May we spread illumination, not intimidation, in this dark world.