John 8:12 NKJV
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus made some very contrasting statements about people who follow Him and those who don’t. When Jesus says things like this, we need to pay attention. We want to be part of the group that follows Him.
What is the dividing line between these two groups of people? It is those who follow Him and those who do not. We could say there are those who are in close fellowship with Him and those who are not. Notice the difference: one group walks in the light, while the other walks in darkness.
What does it mean to walk in darkness? Jesus said it like this in Matthew 13:14: “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive;”. You lack understanding and perception, and as a result, you struggle to gain clarity about what you need to do. It’s like trying to run an obstacle course blindfolded with your ears plugged. You will run into walls, stub your toes, hit your head, trip, fall, and probably get hurt. This is what walking in darkness is like, naturally, but imagine if it were spiritual darkness.
In contrast, those who follow Him walk in the light of life. When walking in the light, you can see every obstacle in your path and hear every instruction given, leading to safety. This illustrates what our life looks like when we follow God. But how closely are you following Him? There is a difference between following hard after Him and following at a distance. Let’s look at Jesus as an example of how to follow after God. John 8:28-29 says that Jesus did nothing by myself, but only did what was pleasing to the Father. Furthermore, He said, ‘He only said what He heard the father say.’
Three things Jesus did to follow God.
- Did nothing by Himself. (He only did what God told Him to do.)
- He only did what was pleasing to the Father.
- He only spoke what He heard the Father say.
Challenge
Before taking any action on your own, pause and ask the Lord, ‘Is this what I should be doing?’ Before speaking, hold your tongue and ask, ‘Have I heard my Father say this?’ Then ask, ‘Lord, is this pleasing to you?’
This is how Jesus walked in the light, and this is how we can walk in the light. It all comes from a place of fellowship.
Search the Scripture
Find some more scriptures about what it means to walk in the light and what it means to walk in darkness. Compare the life of someone who follows hard after God and someone who walks in their own way.