Coming into the Light

 

As I am writing this, we are in holiday mode. The days are getting shorter, and the nights are longer. It’s dark a lot of the time. And as I look around, there’s so much pain and darkness in the world. It FEELS dark!

And yet. LIGHT has burst into the darkness!

Light, as the Person of Christ, dove into our darkness to heal and deliver us. 

God became human flesh!

John 1:14 says, referring to Jesus as The Word:

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Passion Translation (emphasis mine)

God, as the Son, became human in order to become the Light of the world. 

While Jesus is referred to in other translations as “the Word,” John 1:1–13 in The Passion Translation refers to Jesus as the “Living Expression”:

3 And through his creative inspiration this Living Expression made all things, for nothing has existence apart from him!

4 A fountain of life was in him, for his life is light for all humanity. 

5 And this Light never fails to shine through darkness—

Light that darkness could not overcome! 

TPT (emphasis mine)

Jesus is the light for all of humanity. Darkness does not overcome light!

Jesus said of Himself in John 8:12:

12 Then Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”

TPT (emphasis mine)

Jesus, the Christ (the Savior/ the Word/ the Living Expression), is Light to all humanity and invites us to embrace Him and to experience His life-giving light! 

Brian Simmons explains in his commentary on this verse that in the Aramaic translation, when humanity embraces Jesus, “they will never be driven (pushed) by the darkness.”

So, let’s get real. Darkness, fear, and oppression are bullies. Have you ever felt like you’re being driven or pushed by darkness? You are not alone in feeling this way. This is a very real part of being human.

So what is our problem? It seems so illogical not to embrace Christ. Why do we struggle to embrace Christ as life-giving Light?

John 1:10–11 explains:

10 He entered into the world he created, yet the world was unaware. 

11 He came to the people he created—to those who should have received him, but they did not recognize him.

TPT (emphasis mine)

Here are two clues as to why we struggle to embrace Christ:

• We are unaware—blind that He is even present.
• We don’t recognize Jesus as He is.

Another helpful scripture is Colossians 1:21a, which says:

21-22 Even though you were once distant from him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions. . . . 

TPT (emphasis mine)

The New International Version words this as “you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds.”

Unpacking this sheds more light on why we struggle to embrace God:

• We feel separate or alienated in our minds from Him.
• We live in the shadows of evil thoughts.
• We live in the shadows of evil behavior.

We are blind and confused, calling evil good and good evil (Is. 5:20–21). And we have projected evil things on God, Who has no evil in Him, but is perfect, holy Love and Truth. He has been and will always be that (James 1:17; 1 John 4:8 and16; John 14:6; Heb. 13:8).

What was God’s response to us in this utterly fallen, confused, and often delusional state? Colossians 1:21 continues:

. . . he reconnected you back to himself. He released his supernatural peace to you through the sacrifice of his own body as the sin-payment on your behalf so that you would dwell in his presence. And now there is nothing between you and Father God, for he sees you as holy, flawless, and restored . . . .

TPT (emphasis mine)

Jesus, the Christ (the Savior/Messiah), came into the world to reconnect you to Him experientially (2 Tim. 1:9–10; Eph. 1:4) and to be the sacrifice for sin that humanity needed so that you could live in His presence. God had already forgiven. There is NOTHING between you and Father God. He sees you as holy, flawless, and restored—just as you were originally designed (Eph. 1:4, Gen. 1:26–27, and Song 4:7)!

And God, as relentless Love, is about the job of conforming us to the image of Christ in our flavor (Jesus expressing Himself through You!; Rom. 8:29–30). That means He is healing our blindness, minds, wills, emotions, and personalities. We are transformed as we renew our minds, upgrading our thinking to think more as He thinks (Rom. 12:2). 

Ephesians 4:22–24 in the Amplified Bible says:

22 that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], 24 and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation].

The old self is the false self or shadow self. It is not who you truly EVER have been, but it has been how you have related to yourself. Putting on the new self is coming into agreement with who you have ALWAYS been created in God’s image—pure, holy, undefiled, and righteous. The word in Greek for “put on” is endyō, which literally means “to sink into,” like you would sink into a robe. This is a sinking into who you truly are. This is not a striving to be what you are not. And it requires the renewing or changing of your mind and mindsets to what is already true about you! God is ever-present to help you here (Phil. 2:13).

We are healed as we come into His light with what we experience as shame, sin, defilement, confusion, weakness—you name it. He already sees you as you really are: forgiven, beautiful, pure, holy, and utterly accepted. He is your home. 

You have a Father Who adores you, a Brother Who died for you and sticks with you always, and Holy Spirit as Friend with a healing, comforting mother heart. And you also have a multitude of beautiful, holy brothers and sisters who are being healed and glorified right along with you. This is where you belong—the family you always wanted!

Romans 8:15b–16 says:

But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”  16 For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

TPT (emphasis mine)

So come into the light! Whatever that darkness is you are carrying, it is there to be healed! Romans 12:2 says: 

2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.

TPT (emphasis mine)

I trust this has been a huge blessing to you and will be more so as you grapple with the truths here. I’d love to hear how this impacts you!

 

Much Love,

 

Catherine