Anchor My Faith

Title: Light and Life – Death and Darkness (John 1:5)

In the beginning when the heavens and the earth were created, the earth was shrouded in darkness, but God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:1 – 3). John tells us that “5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5 ESV). God caused the earth to rotate causing the experience of day and night. When God created Adam and Eve they were created with light filling their soul and they had fellowship with God in the garden, but when they disobeyed and sinned, death entered and the light went out. They went from day into night, a night that would be eternal unless Jesus provides the gift of life. Because of this disobedience, each human born physically is born in spiritual darkness without spiritual life.

In John 1:5, John states that “the darkness has not overcome it” (ESV). The (NKJV) reads: “and the darkness did not comprehend it.” These two translations provide two thoughts that we will spend many lessons on much later, but for now we will just mention them. Anyone living in spiritual darkness is unable to comprehend or to understand the light. That person does not have spiritual discernment and sees spiritual things as foolishness. However, if God inserts light into that darkness, as he did with Paul on the road to Damascus, the darkness will be unable to overcome it or put it out.

Where there is darkness there is death or the process of dying. There is the inability for recovery as death cannot produce life. In fact, the person in darkness can do nothing unless God brings light into the darkness. The beautiful thing is that Jesus has life and that life is the light of men.

Prayer

Father, I am so thankful that you chose to shine that light into my darkened soul and I was born spiritually. Thank you that Jesus has eternal life to give and that life dispels the darkness, allowing us to see and to understand spiritual things.