Scripture:
Genesis 28:10-22, Luke 11:1-13, 33-36
Observation/Application:
In today’s reading in Luke (11:33-36), Jesus is teaching us about our Christian experience using light as an analogy. He breaks the teaching into two parts: First, Jesus describes what we should do with the light we have in us and second, He exhorts us to keep the light that is in us pure.
Luke 11:33 - “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light
In this verse, Jesus is teaching us that once we were converted something fundamentally changed in us. We have become different because God has called us to fellowship and commune with Him through the salvation of Jesus Christ. We are no longer like everyone else, no longer destined to suffer God’s wrath because of our rebellion, but rather we are set apart, adopted by God and given citizenship in God’s eternal Kingdom. What an awesome reality that is. Jesus challenges us in this verse to reflect that reality to a world that is looking on. Ultimately, Jesus is the light and as his disciples we should be reflecting the image of our teacher. The implication is that when people look at us and our lives, ideally they should be able to see Jesus on some level.
Luke 11:34-36- "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” I think here, Jesus is reminding us here that after conversion there is a still a battle that occurs between the new life of the Spirit and the old life of the flesh. These verses give a good practical teaching on how we subdue the flesh and fill our being with the pure light of God. The teaching here is that our eyes have the ability to fill our inner being with either light or darkness. I think Jesus challenges use to inventory what we consume with our eyes. Do we fill our eyes with scripture, wholesome media, God made nature, and the company of friends and family, or do we fill our eyes with pornography, corrupt media, items we covet, and second lustful glances? I would submit that there is no greater conduit to our inner being that our eyes. We have to guard them.
So what’s the application? For me, I have to realize that Jesus is teaching us fundamental truths here. We have to constantly remind ourselves that even after conversion we are in a battle with the old life of rebellion that put us at odds and out of fellowship with God in the first place. The reality is that we have died to our sinful nature because of our rebirth in Christ, but our sinful nature is not yet dead and won’t be until our physical death ends its rebellion. That sinful nature, the flesh, is the seed of our temptations and the receptacle for the all darkness we take in. So we must guard our eyes and our minds and our bodies so that we don’t give the flesh an opportunity to taint the light in us.
Prayer:Heavenly Father, thank you so much for life and salvation. Thank you God that we are not left to dwell in darkness but because of your grace we are able to be called your sons and daughters. Help us with temptation today. Help us lay waste to the old life of the flesh that desires to entice us with darkness. Forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. Work in us today to reflect your glory and illuminate your Kingdom. We pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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