 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Article Archive |
2008
The Power of the Light
by Jim Morris
The silent alarm lit up on the security officer's control panel. The officer immediately contacted the desk sergeant to dispatch a patrol car to check it out. Unit 4 responded to the call and headed for the nearby warehouse without lights or siren. Unit 3 shifted to the border of its patrol area closest to the warehouse to be available for back up.
It was night.
When the two officers of Unit 4 came on the scene, all of the warehouse doors were shut except the one furthest away from public view. Several vehicles were parked nearby but none seemed occupied. One officer radioed the dispatcher with the information. Unit 3 now began to move in as back up.
Both officers paused outside their squad car to listen for movement before entering the warehouse. They strained to see any sign of an intruder but it was useless without more light. The moonless night only enhanced the tangible darkness. The youngest officer volunteered to check the other entryways while the senior officer approached the open door with flashlight in hand.
After announcing his presence, the senior officer scanned the interior of the warehouse with his flashlight. However, it was not until he found and flicked on the overhead lights that two men burst out from behind a stack of pallets toward a side exit. By the time the officer radioed his partner and reached the exit, the intruders were gone. The power of the “light” forced them to flee from its presence.
Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Earlier in his ministry, Jesus tried to enlighten the Jewish leader, Nicodemus. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
That is right, folks. Jesus is the proof of God’s love for us. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (3:17-18).
Why don't more people flock to Jesus then? Not everyone loves the power of the Light. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (3:19-20).
How does the Light make you feel? “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (3:21).
01-09-08
# 2
