There is nothing more frustrating than during a power outage, roadside repair, or emergency situation going to get the flashlight, and clicking the power button to find your surroundings are still dark as a result of the flashlight not working. Without batteries or a working bulb, the flashlight is more useful as a hammer than it is emitting light.
Continuing into part four of the Lamp of the Body series, we are going to look at Luke 11:35... See to it that the light that is in you is not darkness.
At face value this verse seems like an odd statement. How can light be darkness? It seems like an oxymoron. Once again, Jesus’ teachings give us understanding into this verse and how it should be applied to our lives. We will briefly look at three different teachings of Jesus that will provide this insight.
One way that the light within us can be darkness is when we try to do good things, the right things, to try and validate ourselves as Christians or feel more righteous. We are doing these things to be more righteous and have the fruit to show for being a really good person. But when we try to emulate those things without Jesus, our deeds will be fruitless, just like a branch not being able to produce fruit or live apart from the vine, so we cannot produce fruit and live abundantly apart from God. John 15:4 Jesus said “Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Our actions and words must be to only please the Father. If our motive is anything other, we are missing the whole picture. We are trying to produce the fruit of righteousness by our own accord, letting our light become darkness. When we seek Him first, the product of our ministry comes out of an overflow. When that is the case it is contagious and ignites fire and life in others. When our fruit is truly from the vine (John 15:5) and is a bi-product of delight rather than duty, it is life giving because it is the result of a relationship, and not our own efforts to create feelings, experiences, and change. It is here we experience his hope, rest, and provision.
Jesus warned about the Pharisees of the time who were living a life of religion for the honor among men, high seats at the banquets, and to be considered more holy than others.
Luke 20:45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.
Our deeds can sometimes be done with wrong intentions, not for God’s Glory, but rather to try and impress other people. Continual investment in this makes our light darkness because it is no longer the light of Christ shining through us, it is us trying to emulate that light by means of our own effort.
What Jesus is saying here is see to it that your good deeds are not for men, see to it that your giving is not for your own glory, see to it that your devotion is not just religion, see to it that your desire is not money or anything other than Him, because it is here (Matthew 6:33) that we will find true freedom, fulfillment in life, unending joy, and a light that radiates like a lamp on a stand, a city on a hill, and shines so bright that it dispels all darkness.
Join me next time for the final installment of the Lamp of The Body Series on God's glory and the glimpse into eternity that Scripture gives us.
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children...”
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