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*“This Little Gospel Light of Mine”*
John 3:14-21
!
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Our lesson for today is from John chapter 3 which contains one of the most famous verses in the Bible – John 3:16.
This is such a great verse because it contains the whole Gospel in a few brief words.
But the text around this verse is very important too.
Our lesson for today begins with verse 14 where Jesus compares His death on the cross to the story of Moses lifting up the bronze snake in the wilderness.
A few weeks ago we talked about the “deserts or wildernesses” of our lives and how God comes to us and provides salvation.
Here it is again.
When we face the trials of life and feel like the snakes have bitten us we do have a cure.
We can look to Jesus; focus our eyes on Him for He was lifted up for us so that we can have new life in Him.
Our text also deals with the idea of light.
John’s Gospel uses the metaphor of light and darkness.
In fact the Gospel opens with the phrase, “light has come into the world.”
That light is Jesus.
The darkness is the world, sin and evil.
We as humans struggle in the darkness and have trouble coming to the light of Jesus.
As our text says, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.”[1]
It is in the light that we see Jesus.
John wants us to see the light and move from the darkness into the light.
This reminds me of a song we sing as children in Sunday school: “This Little Gospel Light of Mine.”
Get you little lights out and lets sing this song together:
/This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine./
/This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine./
/This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine./
/Let it shine, all the time, let it shine/
Lets use this song as we look at this text for our meditation today.
*“This little Gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”*
We are called to shine the light of the Gospel in the world.
A light is designed, is meant for dark places.
Here I have a candle.
In this room that is filled with light it doesn’t seem spectacular.
But If I were to turn out all the lights, this candle would then become the focus of attention.
Even a little candle can provide enough light in a dark place.
In fact the darker the place, the less “bright” a light has to be to become effective.
Jesus said, /“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”/
(Matthew 5:13-16, ESV) [2]
\\ And this world is a dark place.
We see it now vividly in the war but darkness is even closer to home.
We live in a sinful world that hates the light and wants to hide in the darkness.
We even struggle with the darkness of sin in our own lives.
But thanks be to God that Jesus is the light for us.
He has come into our lives and shined His light into our darkness.
And now He calls us to shine that same light into the dark places in the world.
That means we have to leave this light place, our church, and go out to the dark places of the world.
Maybe that is scary for you, but it is Christ’s light, not yours, and God has promised to be with us always.
Let your light shine.
I heard this quote that I think is good for us to meditate on, “The church isn’t a refuge from the world.
The church is a refuge for the world.”
Often we want to escape the world here in the church, but really the purpose of our church is to be a place for the world to come to, for people to leave the darkness and come into the light.
Let your light shine.
*“Hide it under a bushel…No”*
But I am afraid of the world?
It is a dark place, how can I do anything?
Paul said to Timothy, /“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”/
(2 Timothy 1:6-7, ESV)[3] We have the power of God, we need not be afraid of the darkness.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Let your light shine.
When I was young and sung the second verse to this song I always thought it was “bush” not “bushel.”
When I got older I thought this was strange, why would you hide a candle under a bush?
Wouldn’t it burn the bush?
Maybe there is some truth to this mistaken view.
You misuse fire and you get burned!
Finally I realized it was bushel or basket.
We don’t want to hide our light but let it be seen by the world.
It is not even our light but the light of Christ.
When you but a snuffer over a candle it will eventually go out after it uses up all the oxygen.
The same could be said for our light – hide it and it is in danger of going out, let it shine out in the world and it will shine bright.
Maybe you could say the darkness of this world provides oxygen for our candles to burn bright.
Let your light shine in the darkness.
*“Don’t Let Satan blow it out…”*
The third verse, as I learned it, tells us to guard against Satan blowing out our light.
I think this verse is miss leading because it gives too much credit to Satan.
Can Satan really blow out the light of Christ in us?
A young girl was minding herself in church.
She was quiet when she needed to be, spoke the prayers and sang the songs as was right to do.
She sat still and paid attention like she should.
The same could not be said about her brother.
In fact the term “holy terror” fit well.
He was all over the pew, couldn’t sit still and talked all the time.
The sister kept trying to get him to settle down.
She would tell him to be quite, that he should sit still and listen to the service.
Finally the little brother said, “Why do I have to be quiet?”
The young girl pointed to several people standing in the back of the church, “You see those people?
They are husher.”[4]
The light of Christ is victorious!
The darkness, Satan, cannot overcome it.
But why do I feel like the world has blown out my light?
Sometimes our light seems to only be a smoldering wick, but God is still there.
How many of you have had trick candles on a birthday cake.
It is a candle that when you blow it out it comes back to life.
Sometimes we feel like this little candle.
The world blows against us.
We see our light go out.
But the light of Christ returns.
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