Jesus is the Light of Life

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Kurieuo
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Jesus is the Light of Life

Post by Kurieuo »

John 8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

I use to wonder about the symbolism where Jesus calls himself the light and the truth. Where does the literalism lay, or what is exactly meant by such? Yes, we might say perhaps that Jesus is the truth that matters in life. Or the light of the way to salvation. I'm sure such are valid theological insights. And yet, such elaborations as I see don't convey strongly enough Christ's identification with such, and are as I see kind of backward.

What do I mean? Well, Jesus isn't the light, as in, to be compared to light. Rather Jesus IS indeed the Light, such that the light that we experience in the world is a token of the fact Jesus IS the light of the world, indeed the light of life as John 8:12 elaborates further upon. To re-state, God is the source of ALL life, and nothing exists except that God allowed His light to radiate out and create something. That the Sun in our galaxy radiates light, and we have the ability to be aware to and experience light, is a token the more foundational spiritual truth that God is THE Light.

Similarly, Jesus saying He is the truth, I think there is a more foundational spiritual reality to Truth, such that God is Truth. All that God is and has created IS what we'd call true, and all that isn't from God, is made up apart from reality is a fiction or false. Something along those lines, right? Therefore God and all that God has done or which stems forth from such really is the Truth aka Reality.

And so, light and truth are actually predicated upon God, indeed Christ who identifies Himself with such, rather than Christ predicating himself upon some metaphorical similarity to be found in light and truth. The archetypes of what is "light" and what is "truth" on their most foundational levels find grounding in God. That's what I believe anyway.
"Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
PaulSacramento
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Re: Jesus is the Light of Life

Post by PaulSacramento »

Much like CS Lewis said that, we know the sun exists not so much by seeing it but by what it allows us to see ( paraphrasing), Jesus is the LIGHT and the TRUTH by which we can see what is light and what is truth.
DBowling
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Re: Jesus is the Light of Life

Post by DBowling »

Adding some additional thoughts to what K and Paul have already said...

I equate "truth" with reality... the way things really are...
truth about God
truth about life
truth about myself

Unfortunately mankind is blinded to these truths due to the darkness of our sinful state.

As the light of the world, Jesus came to pierce the darkness that blinds mankind and provide illumination (light) so we can see the 'truth' about God, ourselves, and life.
As John 8:12 tells us,the illumination that Jesus provides guides us out of darkness and into the light of the life that can only be found when mankind enters into relationship with his Creator.

The Apostle John begins his Gospel with this principle
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Happy Thanksgiving!! :D
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