The Love of God is the Light that shines in the Darkness

A Dark Fallen World

We live in a dark fallen world. The same world that God created by saying let there be light! The same world that God created in six days and stepped back and looked and declared his beloved creation to be very good.

A lot has gone wrong since light first dawned over creation. It began with humanity’s fall from grace in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3:22–24 NLT

22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Since the day Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God renedered judgement right then and there. He cursed the serpent, the woman, and man and banished them from his pressence. From the first bite of the fruit humanity knew good and evil. A look at the history of humanity it would seem that we work hard at allowing darkness, evil, sin and death to flood God’s good creation.

There is good news As hard as it may seem that humanity works to flood our news, our communities, God’s beloved creation with darkness, God works harder at flooding his creation with good, light and life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 NLT

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

We pick up God’s story here in John 3:14-21

Through believing in Jesus Christ we can join in the mission of God to bring light and life to God’s good creation.

Love is the Light

This passage begins in the middle of a longer conversation. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus a teacher of Israel. Jesus has already utterly confused Nicodemus by talking about spiritual things such as being born again to enter the Kingdom of God. After trying a second time to explain spiritual things using the wind Nicodemus still wasn’t understanding. Jesus uses the illustration of Moses holding up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. Certainly a rabbi a teacher of Israel would understand that. This conversation was the beginning of Nicodemus journey of grace.

Unfortunately we don’t hear from Nicodemus again in this conversation. We don’t know how he responded in this conversation with Christ but what we do know is that Nicodemus knew who Christ was and followed him to the grave.(John 19:38-39) We know that Nicodemus spoke up for Jesus when the religious leaders wanted to arrest him in John 7:50 this conversation completely changed Nicodemus life.

In the darkness of night, in the darkness of his life Nicodemus comes to the light of Christ.

While we don’t know how Nicodemus walked away from this conversation with Jesus we do know life wasn’t the same for him. Seeing that as a teacher of Israel when Jesus used the imagery of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness the light came on for Nicodemus.

Cross of Christ is like the bronze serpent in the wilderness.

-Veil the seperated the people from the pressence of God torn in two

-Peoples graves open at Christ death

-Look to Christ who gave himself for you and you will live.

-It is through Christ that we find life, salvation not from serpents poisonous bites, but from the poisounous bite of sin back in Genesis 3.

-God in his love, mercy and grace sent his one and only son Jesus Christ.

For God so Loved the World

1 John 4:10 NLT

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

-Agape love. Love without conditions. Love that simply is. Love that lays down his life for those mocking him, for those nailing him to a cross. It is a divinely unshakeable love of God.

Because God loved past tense the world by giving his one and only son. His displayed love impacts the here and now.

Even in the darkness we currently live in whosoever believes in him. No matter what the sin that darkens your door. No matter who you are, or who you have been. God sent his son for you shed light on his love, mercy and grace for you. Through christ saving act on the Cross God has loved, has saved, is saving, and will continue to save the world.

Didn’t come into the world to judge or condemn but that the world may be saved!

MY FIRST MEMORIES OF WHO I THOUGHT GOD TO BE. JUDGE WITH A GIANT HAMMER SITTING ON A THRONE EAGERLY WAITING FOR ME TO MESS UP SO HE CAN SMACK ME WITH IT. Unforturnately too often God is revealed by us his followers this way instead of like the Father from the parable of the prodigal waiting with arms wide open waiting for his children to return home.

-God through Christ revealed himself to be a God of love mercy and grace because he already judged and condemned the world in Genesis 3. God satisfied the Judgement of sin when he sacrificed his own Son.

-It is through believing in Jesus Christ death and resurrection that we can have life in his name.

Go Be the Light

We like Nicodemus came to Christ in the darkness of our lives. It is through this darkness that the light of Christ shines. It is by God’s love, mercy and grace that we have been saved. It is through Christ that God is saving his beloved creation. He has called us his people out of the darkness that surrounds us and into his marvelous light, that we may shine the light of his love, mercy and grace in the darkness of this world.

Go be that light. So others may be like Nicodemus and come to Jesus in the darkness of their lives and begin this glorious journey of grace.