Night is approaching: the brighter Christ shines
Jesus told his disciples, I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness (John 12:46). As Jesus taught and expounded on the Old Testament law and exposed the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees, it becomes obvious through the scriptures how dark and evil the times were during and since His earthly ministry. Luke, the author of the book of Acts, wrote that Paul said that Jesus had spoken to him about the purpose of the gospel: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 26:18). As we share the gospel with others, and they accept the gift of salvation that Christ so freely offers, His light grows brighter in a world that continually grows darker. When we think of what the Son offers, eternal life with Him in Heaven and in comparison to what this world offers, as so eloquently described by Paul in the first chapter of Romans, it’s no wonder why Jesus spent a lot of His earthly ministry warning about the coming darkness and judgment.
The apostle Paul was very clear about the contrast between darkness and light: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). As is clear from his teachings, light and darkness are opposites of one another and should repel one another. Paul understood and tried to explain to Christians that we are to become guides to bring others to Christ: And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness (Romans 2:19) and Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness (I Thessalonians 5:5). The light is not based on the philosophy of mankind just as the darkness is not of God, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). The storms may endure for a season, but they will die down and if we place our complete trust in Him, we will not be overcome by the storms. The night is approaching, its darkness is growing, all because of one simple biblical truth: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
