Imagine a tent full of Boy Scouts with only one flashlight to share. Midnight hikes to the outhouse would surely turn into comical adventures as all those scouts try to follow one small beam of light down a dark path.
The boys in front would see well enough, but those in the back would, at best, stub their toes. At worst, they would march headlong into a tree.
In such a scenario, it wouldn’t be long before these boys started to wrestle over whose turn it was to hold the light!
But imagine if each scout had his own light.
Isaiah 10:17 tells us that God is the “Light of Israel.” Isaiah 42:6 tells us He is the “light for the Gentiles” (or “light of the nations”).
Psalm 27 reminds us that God’s light is for individuals too: “The LORD is my light,” David exclaims.
There’s individuality in that promise, as well as intimacy in a one-on-one relationship. God is the light of the world, but He is also my light, and yours.
The implications are enormous. Because God is your light, you don’t have to sit in darkness waiting for the light God has supplied to your pastor or priest or mentor.
God is able to illumine your heart. In other words, you’re not dependent on your parents’ relationship with God or a spouse’s faith (or at least you shouldn’t be). God will be your light. He will lead you uniquely as you both experience and “work out” your own salvation (Philippians 2:12).
This is not to say we should live isolated, independent lives. God definitely calls us to live in community. But that means being interdependent, not dependent.
God wants to be your individual light. And He wants you to join your light with other believers so that corporately we might be a city on a hill, a light to the world.
Take a close look at one of the most oft-quoted verses in the Bible: “For God so loved the world (community) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever (individual) believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, notes added).
Yes, God is the light of the world. But is He also your light?
How has God’s light changed your life?
