Light & Delight

Jesus is the light of the world. He came that we might see and believe.

“Then the king called together…all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant…renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord…The king ordered…the priests…to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts…Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places…Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols…Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength”2 Kings 23:1-25

Jesus said the greatest command is to love God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Are you all in with the Almighty? Are you fully devoted, or is your heart or mind divided? Are you at peace? Do you feel whole?

After Josiah gave his heart to God, he opened his eyes and saw how many ways evil had entered the community. The light of the law revealed where the people had opened the door to the enemy and had been unfaithful to the commitment to love God fully. It was quite a process, as there was a lot of corruption in the land, but he led the people step by step through the process of purification.

First, we give our hearts to Him. We respond to His invitation to relationship, and out of a desire to be faithful, we look at our lives to see if anything is not honoring to God. God wants to purify our lives to make room for His presence. He is not a rigid God. He is righteous. He wants to remove anything that does not belong in us. He does this out of love. It is not loving to watch someone suffer when they could find healing if they changed.

Take time today to shine the light of truth on your life. Do you have any high places that do not honor God? Has anything gotten into your life that you know you should purify? As humans, we have a unique ability to deceive ourselves and justify what we want, even if it does not align with following Jesus.

“I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong. Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Psalms 36:1-9 

David introduces what we can call the faithful filter for living. David said the faithful will fear the Lord and follow His ways. The faithful will see how God is always faithful, just, righteous, and good. The faithful can look all around creation and see how much God cares for His people. A person would have to be blind not to see the love of God everywhere. God wants you to know He knows your needs and will abundantly provide. He wants to light your path and lead you to eternal life. The question is, do you want to draw close to God? Do you want to experience His power, peace, and presence?

David looked around the world and saw that many people do not. The very people in his community who were supposed to be committed to God were actually committed to a sinful course. David said that people have an ability to delude themselves because of self-flattery, not fearing God, speaking falsely, living for themselves, and failing to act wisely.

David said God is not the problem. Sin is the problem. Self-deception is the problem. Don’t we all know this to be true? How many times have we spun tales in our minds to justify the sin we wanted to commit? How many times have we failed to follow God’s way because it was not convenient, comfortable, or within the control we want to keep?

David said, do not think for a moment that God does not see and know what’s going on in your heart. Our spirit and our flesh constantly battle. The question is typically not if we sin, but how we have allowed sin to enter into our lives. Jesus came to give us eyes to see clearly that we might experience the joy of salvation and purification that leads to more of His presence.

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God…those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful…There are three things that are never satisfied…the grave, the barren womb, land…which never says, ‘Enough!” Proverbs 30:5-32

You were born on this planet at a specific time and in a specific place. Consider how the time, culture, and place that we live in influence how you think and your heart’s desires. When we read about people who are prideful and always pursue more, does that sound more or less like our current culture? Consumerism does not lead to a closer relationship with Christ. How is coveting or an attitude of consumerism impacting you? Are there any areas where you need to remove an unrighteous attitude like Josiah removed the high places?

The wise tell the truth. Wisdom says, keep falsehood from me. God is Spirit and truth. We cannot draw close to God while practicing deceit. The wise person desires neither too much nor too little. Humility asks only to have your daily bread. Jesus said I am the bread of life. What would happen if we sought to simplify our lives and purify our hearts? Is it possible that we would experience more of the presence of God? Do we want more of God or more gadgets or glamour?

“Hear the word of the Lord…Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place…For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods…They have built the high places of Baal…I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’” Jeremiah 19:3-15

Do you ever wonder why God issues a warning? Does He do it so that we will be more terrified, or that we might turn back to Him? Warnings are good. They are not meant to produce fear unless we are not doing what is right. A smoke alarm warns of a potential fire. Responding to the alarm saves us. The same is true for the warnings God gives. Can you sense Him warning you to stay away from anything?

The word of God is flawless and can never be broken. God has said that He wants to redeem, restore, and renew a right spirit in us. But He gives us free will to choose whether we will be fully devoted and faithful to Him. This is why purification begins after a personal commitment. God calls out the people who claim to be in covenant relationship with Him. If Jesus is Lord, then His word should have authority.

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam…So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind…the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight…Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing…Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”John 9:1-39

Jesus is the light of the world, and His light is an invitation to see clearly and draw near. He wants us to be closer than close, like a bride and groom or a parent and child. Think of the deepest, most meaningful relationships in your life. He wants that with you. He wants you to hear His voice and feel His presence. He wants your heart to be so full of the Holy Spirit and your eyes so aware of His goodness that you cannot help but praise and desire more of Him.

We do not need to be afraid of what the light of Christ might reveal because the One who searches our hearts is the One who set us free. The best thing for us is to come honestly before Him and be open to responding to what He reveals. We do not fix ourselves before coming to Him. We open our hearts and let the light of truth shine so that we might walk in freedom as dearly loved children.

Purity makes room for more. It makes room for more of God’s presence, more of His peace, and more of His power. David saw there were two kinds of people: those who flattered themselves and those who feared God. Which will you be?

When God opens our eyes, instead of being consumed by what we lack, we can learn to praise the abundance of God. He is our refuge, our provider, our fountain of life, and the One who lights our path. As He works and purifies us, praise and worship flow more freely as we see His grace everywhere.

The man who had been blind encountered Jesus, received his sight, believed, and worshiped. Let that be our prayer today. Jesus, help me see. Shine Your light into every part of my life. Show me what is true, purify what is not, and remove anything that keeps me from experiencing the fullness of Your presence. Jesus will do the heavy lifting. Our invitation is to surrender, stay close, and see. After we do, like David, we will sing of love that reaches to the heavens and faithfulness that we can feel within us.