Have you ever tried to walk through a room in your house without the lights on? I do this all the time. Not for fun. I am not that weird. It is pure laziness. I don't feel like turning on the hall switch only to turn it off once I have light in the bedroom. Typically, I manage fine without a lamp, but the past few weeks, my shins and feet have taken their fair share of torture. We are finishing our basement, so our bedroom gets to store all sorts of fun toe-busting furniture.
The next "I AM" statement takes place in a not coincidental part of the Temple: the room with all the candles. They symbolize the pillar of fire used to lead the Israelites through the wilderness. Clever Jesus.
He turns to the Pharisees (aka. the same hyper-religious people trying to trap Jesus and stone sinners) and says:
I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. - John 8:12
It would be easy to end here and tell you to just turn on the light while singing, "I saw the light" as the outro. However, you and I both know we still stub our toes even when we can see. Choosing to follow Jesus doesn't mean you avoid the hurt. Pain is a given in this world with or without him. Choosing to let the I AM lead you, like the pillar of fire in the wilderness, means you have a constant guide the whole way. You never have to guess where you are going; look up.
By
March 2, 2020