In the Gospel of John Jesus says that he is the light of the world. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness; but will have the light of life (John 8:12).” But what does that mean?

Throughout the Bible, there has always been a distinction between light and darkness. God and everything associated with him are described as light: his love, goodness, justice, etc. Darkness is everything without God’s light—evil. I know EVIL is a strong word but I believe when I look at myself and the things I pursue all if not most are: selfish, lustful, greedy, prideful, etc. All of these sins are evil. They hurt, deceive, invalidate, and mistreat other people. Committing these sins has never helped anyone in the long run (Hot take).  Those sins, if not kept in check can ruin not just my life, but other people’s lives.

This is how Jesus describes us in John 3:19. We are all walking in darkness because we have loved the darkness. In my experience, sin often gives the appearance of “the good life.” The good life of money, power, relationships, and every desire you have fulfilled. In all honesty, sin does give temporary pleasures in this life. That is why we are so driven towards it. That’s not the whole picture though; sin always comes with hidden consequences. That’s why I believe sin is associated with darkness. Darkness hides things. Things are hidden in the dark because it’s hard to see clearly. Everyone shows the parts of this “good life” without a care in the world. But a lot remains hidden—things like shame, regret, suffering, and unintended consequences that come from fully indulging in our sins. We try to hide those things but keep the same lifestyle of sin.

Jesus in this metaphor is saying that he is the light of the world. What does light do? It reveals what’s hidden. He came to expose the evil of sin and show us where it really leads to… Death. “For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).” At first we don’t like that. Why? Well, today we believe that we are all “good” and our sins aren’t as bad as we think. But I also have a fear of my not-so-good parts being exposed. Why? Because I’m not as good as I want everyone to think I am. What I find interesting is that I work so hard to hide my sins but Jesus said that one day everything will be revealed. “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs (Luke 12 2-3).”  So if everything going to be revealed anyway; why not just step into the light now?

Having the light of life means that our sins are completely exposed for they are and that we have rejected them. It means we have a relationship with Christ and we walk with him. There’s no fear of “being exposed,” no skeletons in the closet, and no more looking for your shoulder.  We have been forgiven and we now have the freedom to share it with others by pointing them to the light. Jesus.

Hope this helps!