LIGHT

 

“And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev. 21:23). “And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 22:5).

 

“No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light; and your God for your glory [or beauty!]. (Isaiah 60:19).

 

Continuing with the above passages:

 

Why do we settle for lesser lights? Why do we walk in the light of other people rather than live in the Light of Jesus Christ?

 

It is not unusual to be around professing Christians who spend their time talking about this Christian teacher or that preacher or that author, and they seldom, if ever, talk about Jesus Christ. How can this be?

 

It is not unusual to be around professing Christians who never miss a “Christian” TV or radio program by this or that leading speaker, but who do not fellowship with Jesus Christ in His Word and prayer. How can this be?

 

It is not unusual to be around professing Christians who know more about such and such a popular teacher than they know about Jesus Christ. How can this be?

 

Now for sure God has placed teachers in the Body of Christ, but He has done so to refract the image of Jesus Christ and to draw us into a deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ; God has not placed teachers in the Body to be substitutes for His Beloved Son – as the Father made clear to Peter.

 

Godly teachers do not want to be substitutes for Jesus Christ, they want to faithfully manifest Jesus Christ to others and to bring others into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. In the eyes of others, of those who listen to them and read their books, they want Christ to increase and they want to decrease (John 3:30).

 

But often well-meaning teachers are used as substitutes for Jesus Christ, and while this may have always been a danger in times past, in our celebrity culture it is more so – and sadly, I suppose there are those teachers and preachers and pastors who began their callings in humility but succumbed to the celebrity culture themselves. Most of us have egos and our egos can be seduced. We should not be surprised at scandals among teachers who have been given celebrity power in a church infused with a celebrity culture.

 

Is Jesus Christ the Light of our life?