Most folks enjoy the beauty of a perfect sunset—but in reality, the celestial body of the sun never “sets”. Our planet Earth rotates (spins) on its axis at the same time that it orbits (revolves) around the sun. 

Laymen use terminology of the sun “setting” even though Galileo proved Earth rotates toward the east,  which is why the sun “rises” in the east and “sets” in the west.

The reason darkness comes upon Earth is because Earth turns away from the sun’s brilliant light—the sun never turns away from Earth. This means whichever continents that are within the sun’s rays will soon enter darkness as Earth turns away. And just like Earth always goes into darkness, the same can be said for why beings go into darkness:

We turn away from the Son—The Son never turns away from us.

Luke 11:33-35 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

• Christ is represented by the lamp’s light, in this teaching of Jesus from the gospel of Luke.  The eye represents our spiritual understanding of Jesus’ light.  He tells us the desire to sin blocks out our ability to see Him (Jesus the light). Meaning—we can not see the goodness of Jesus’ light while we are in the darkness of sin. 

The Son as a light for us:

John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

• Jesus came to the world as our light. His teachings to the twelve disciples and all who have ears to hear, are shared to illuminate our pathway.  Jesus wants us to know who He is, to follow Him, and to share the light He gives us  so that all of mankind knows which direction we should go; to provide access out of the evil darkness of the world and turn into the light of God’s love. 

The Son’s light offers hope for us:

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

• Jesus, the Son of God, did not withhold knowledge of God or eternal life. Jesus spent His three ministerial  years sharing the good news of who He is. Jesus, Son of God, extends the invitation to forever leave the darkness of this world and instead forever live in the light of His kingdom.

The Son’s light purifies us:

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

• Over and over—Jesus refers to God as light during His three years of teaching  before His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus’ invitation to follow His light was heard by many, and claimed by many. But many in Jesus’ time, just like today, claimed to know Jesus though they did not live according to His words. Those people, indeed, choose to turn away from the Son and live in darkness.

The Son’s light calls us:

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

• Humans are born into sin because of Adam and Eve’s action of sin in the garden. Thankfully,  being those chosen by God, we are called by Him to come out of (turn away from) darkness and into (turn towards) the light of Jesus Christ.  In doing so we offer Jesus all praise and glory for our salvation. 

Believers know The Light will welcome us home.

Recently, I attended the funeral of a friend’s father. During the service, the priest stated “Welcome to the light!” I image those words offered assurance to all God’s faithful people in attendance  that the deceased—Bob, 93 years young—is now in heaven.

But as I sat there I imagined how wonderful it must be for Bob that he, as his service was happening here on earth, was at that moment fully in the light of our loving savior, Jesus Christ, never to turn from Him again!

SHARE: The Son Never Turns Away From Us

To learn and share the importance of keeping God’s name holy, order copies of LIFT HIM UP DON’T PULL HIM DOWN @ LULU.COM or AMAZON.COM for your next Bible study.