Isaiah 38:17 Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

If it had not been for the gall of bitterness, I would not have sought to be delivered. With all honesty, I was not aware of God’s love for me at first. All I knew was despair, pain, and a path leading to loneliness.

It was not until later, while on the path with Jesus that He showed me how great the Father’s love was for me.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

I had heard those words but it did not seem personal for God loved the world, not just me. Then as I walked with Jesus, He showed me the love of the Father.

Luke 24:32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Only when I walked in “The Way” with Jesus did my heart begin to yearn for Him. Only then did I learn of the Father’s love for me and just how personal that love could be.

A newborn feels the love of the mother long before it learns speech. The same is for those of us that are born again. We feel it even before we learn the language of the Spirit.

I do believe there are some who knew His love and came to Him. That was not my experience. I had a life I left behind. Perhaps a few out there were lucky enough to come to Jesus in innocence and do not have an ugly past. God blessed them in a different way than He has blessed me.

I left that other life behind.

When you love God that is what you do, make a new life with Him.

John 1:9-13 English Standard Version

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

While I left off yesterday with a reference to John 1:9 I would like to pick up on those thoughts with some clarification. The first point is that Jesus Christ is light and is given to everyone. While He came to Israel, that was to indicate where He came from, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His lineage indicates His birthright.

Having said that, let us move on to the initial properties of light and why He is considered the true light.

John 3:18-20 English Standard Version

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Those that love sin do not want to have their acts exposed. Unless we have had that “come to Jesus” moment, we will remain in sin and remain condemned. If an individual does not believe in God then the law becomes their judge. Not God’s law but rather man’s laws. Those laws are subject to the system of the governing parties within the land where those individuals live.

If a citizen fears their government and their laws, they will seek to escape and flee to a country with more liberal laws. While many will at this point think about immigration and lawlessness I want everyone to understand this is not political but rather a commentary on the fear of God versus the fear of man.

If we fear God then one has to look to God to discover His relief from condemnation. It is only through the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that relief is found. Only through belief in Jesus Christ can believers find themselves in His protective rights as children of God.

Once we place our faith in Jesus Christ what protective rights can we expect? Once we accept Jesus into our hearts the true light exposes our deeds to our souls, not to the world. This is about our relationship with the God we fear. This true light does not destroy sin, it only exposes it to our souls. That allows us to see what God sees as an obstacle in this relationship we have with God. The true light casts a shadow because of sin. We have nowhere to hide. We are exposed. Genesis 3:10