Walk in the light

If you use Facebook you will know that every so often Facebook reminds you of an anniversary of a post or image which you uploaded onto Facebook.  Two or three weeks ago, I was reminded by Facebook of an image from our first winter in Leicester (2012).  It was an image of Sue’s car, which was parked on the street outside our house.  I took the photo because the car and the street were covered in several inches of snow.  It was interesting to be reminded of that time, especially as I can’t remember many similar periods whilst we have lived in Leicester.  I quite enjoy snow, although I appreciate that it can cause problems for some.

The 2019/20 winter has been fairly mild as winters go (global warming?)  Having said that, we have had a few cold snaps when the night temperatures have dropped below freezing.  A couple of weekends ago was one time when we awoke to a layer of frost outside.  As I made my way gingerly down to church for the Saturday coffee and prayer time, I lost my footing several times on the icy pavements, and had to very quickly regain my balance to avoid ignominiously ending up in a heap on the ground!

Later in the day I was out walking again, and noticed an interesting, though not surprising, phenomenon.  Temperatures had remained at about freezing, and some of the pavements were still treacherously icy.  Those pavements which had received the sun’s warming rays, however, were free of ice.  As I walked down the road on which I live, I noticed a marked difference between the pavement on one side which remained icy and the pavement on the other side which was dry and free from ice because the sun had shone on it.  What a difference the light of the sun had made!

I was reminded of the words of Jesus when he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (John 8.12).  In other words, to put our trust in and follow Jesus is to walk in the light of his presence; our hearts are warmed and melted to become hearts of love and compassion, and we experience an increasing desire to walk in his way. 

The apostle Paul wrote, ‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light’ (Ephesians 5.8).  Paul reminds us that to walk in the warm light of Jesus and to follow him is to be transformed; it should be evident in our lives.  The apostle John gives an example of how this works out in practice:

‘Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness’ (1 John 2.9-11).

As the light of God’s love penetrates our lives, so we should be becoming more like Jesus himself.  That’s some challenge!