~ Light of the World – What Does It Mean

On any Sunday in many, if not most, Churches the song “Light of the World” is sung. It is addressed to Jesus who came as ”the Way, the Truth, and the Light”. The song in the first line tells how He “Light of the world you stepped down into darkness” and continues with “Opened my eyes let me see”

The question that makes me ponder is the meaning of those two lines. The wording is quite clear, Jesus as “God with us”, the meaning of the name  Christ came from Heaven with the express purpose of illuminating the state of the wicked world in which He lived. It is the second part of those two lines that I wish to address. What does it actually mean that He “opened my eyes let me see”.

So as I tend to do, I went to research mode. There is ample evidence that Jesus did, indeed, shine a light on the world in which He lived, it was a large part of His unpopularity among the establishment. This, in and of itself, was largely responsible for their rejection of Him and then His Crucifixion. But that was 2000 years ago, the world in which we live today is vastly different to then, it may be no better but it is vastly different. So what does it mean for Him to open our eyes?

Perhaps the comments of Jesus in John 9:5 that “While I am in the world, I am the light for the world.” This is instructive, in that, He, specifically, says that He is the light of the world while He was there.

He went on to say to his disciples that “You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden,” Matt 5:14. He said this during His pastoral sermon. In a sense He is saying that the disciples also are, at the same time the light for the world and that they should stand out like a city built upon a hill.

A couple of chapters later John marries the two passages together when he says in chapter 8:12 “Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” Suddenly the song starts to make sense, Jesus gives us life giving light, and His light within us opens our eyes to enable us to see. I am still in a bit of a quandary. This light that is within us, is it for ourselves or is or is there a higher purpose after all according to Matt 5:14 we are like a city on a hill?

It was not until I found in the letter to the Church at Philippi this verse chapter 2:15 “Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God. You live among people who are crooked and evil, but you must not do anything that they can say is wrong. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world,”. This verse provides the link that I was looking for.

We are infilled with the light of life for the express purpose of saving the lives of others, this is the reason Jesus likened us, His disciples, as a city on a Hill. We are to be visible as Followers of Jesus so that unbelievers will be attracted to us simply because we do not do the things that trip them up.

This combined with the love that Jesus enables within His followers  may be the secret to evangelism perhaps: that and our relationship to the people we seek to serve.