Led by the Light

In some places in the U.S., flowers are blooming and the sun is  shining: spring has come. Here at my house in the Midwest, it is  still late winter. This particular week in March is when I plant my  tomatoes and my peppers in my seed room. I suspend bright lights  two inches above the flats to keep them warm. Where light glows,  the plants spring upward when they germinate. Did you know that  seeds with no light will grow in any direction—sidewise, upwards,  or upside down? 

Similarly, people in nursing homes or hospitals, having only  artificial lightbulbs, can lose track of the natural rhythms of night and  day. Third-shift workers may experience that same disorientation.  The body does not know when it is dark and when it is light. 

I recall a disoriented time in my life at seventeen. The world felt  directionless. Was there was a purpose to anything that I did? I  remember thinking, as we sped down the interstate, “If I opened the  door and fell out of this car and died, nobody would really care.” I  had a vague sense of God’s care, but that love was like a weak light  bulb far away. 

The letter to the Ephesians calls us from darkness to light: “Live  like those who are at home in the daylight.” Jesus touches the blind  man’s eyes and he sees. The “Light of the world” changes things. He  did for me. I hope that he has done so for you. 

Yet some may prefer the darkness, Jesus says. Nobody enjoys  being directionless, so other directions are marketed to “save us,”  to lift us from darkness to light —from football to coffee, yoga, and  massage therapy. But can any “thing” truly replace Jesus as Savior,  the true Light of the world? 

Consider/Discuss 

• Depression and despair are growing in our culture. Suicides and drug  use rates have lowered life expectancy. How do we help those we love to  transform from a perception of God as “a weak light bulb far away” to the  radiant Love who is near? What can we personally do to be Jesus’ light to a  world that feels hopeless and directionless? 
• When have you ever felt like the man born blind? When have you  experienced Jesus as the light who brings you out of that darkness?  Personal stories are most effective in bringing about transformation. Could  you share that story with someone who is feeling as though he or she lives  in the shadows?

Living and Praying the Word 

Jesus, Light of the world, thank you for leading us through dark  valleys and out of despair. Like young David, anoint us to follow  you wholeheartedly wherever you direct. We want to sprout. We  want to grow. We want to bear fruit that will nourish others. Help  us to grow always toward your light.