Luke 11:33-36--The Light in You

Luke 11:33-36
English Standard Version
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The Light in You
33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

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There is a purpose to a lamp--it is meant to give light, and there's a reason that we put lights as high up as we can, because we want as few obstacles between the light source and what we are trying to illuminate as possible.  Jesus says that it's the same with the light that is within us when we have been made new by Him.  Even though we are just reflectors of His light, we are to let our light shine brightly before men and we are to make sure we position ourselves for all the world to see and understand.  We are not to hide the light within us so that no one can see it, nor should we restrict its functionality by keeping it close to ourselves so that it only illuminates what's right around us--the light is not meant to be just for personal use (like a flashlight) but is meant to give light to all like the Sun and the Moon (which reflects the light of the Sun).

Jesus then switches the metaphor and says that the issue with the world should not be with the light source, but with the way they see and process things (their worldview).  Have you ever met someone with cataracts?  It can be a bright and sunny day, but for them they cannot see clearly and if their cataracts are really bad, they may not be able to tell much difference between night and day.  There are also those who were born blind or who have degenerative eye conditions, or who had eye damage or the part of their brain the processes the signals from the eye were damaged.  In any of these cases, the issue is neither with the object itself or the illumination of the object but the viewer is simply unable to see it or if they can see something, they can't see it clearly and they can't understand what it is they are seeing.  That's the way it is with the world trying to understand God and the things of God--it's impossible for them to do so.  They can only understand when God causes the scales to fall off of their eyes and gives them eyes to see clearly.  Remember the big context here is that there were some who believed when the 72 were sent out and some that didn't.  Jesus is saying we must go and let our light shine before men (tell the gospel to everyone), but that not everyone will have eyes to see and ears to hear and minds to understand.  But we can't know who is who, only God knows that and we much preach the gospel to all.

Now then, what if that which you think is light in you is truly darkness?  This is a strange question because to quote Abraham Hamilton, III, "Darkness is not an affirmative force, it simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light."  That is darkness looks strong and that it has the power to drive away the light, and it may feel like darkness is dark, ominous and has a presence or life to it, but all darkness can do is flee in the presence of light.  But what if you think you are supposed to be the light-bearer and your lamp has no oil or your flashlight has no batteries or there is no electricity connected to the light in your house and you flip the switch and nothing happens.  Worse yet, which I think is what Jesus is getting at here, what if you think you are sharing the true gospel with people, and yet you are sharing a false gospel with them--it might have been better if you shared no gospel with them, because now those people might think they are right with God, but they may be destined for hell and not listen to anyone in the future preaching the true gospel to them because they imagine they are good and already did that or that they don't need the version someone else is preaching because they already have their own version that works for them.  In this case, that thing they imagine to be light within them is darkness, so they and all those that they preach to are in the worst kind of darkness because they are deceived and think they can see clearly while they are still blind.

The last statement here is that how clearly our light shines before men has to do with if we allow darkness to reign in any part of body, soul, or mind.  If we are full of light so that it pushes out all the darkness and there is no longer any space for it in our lives (this is done by and through the Holy Spirit and not by us--it is a miracle of God), then the gospel that we share will have a great and meaningful impact because we will be showing and telling the gospel and no one will be able to close their eyes and ears to it saying that they don't believe it because it doesn't even have the power to transform and change us.  Many will still reject it, but they will have to come up with claims that no one should believe because those people will look at you and look at what you are saying and should understand that what you speak is both true and powerful and that the reason someone rejects the message is not an issue with the message or the messenger, but the recipient who is being asked to come out of the darkness and into the light.  We are told that men love the darkness and hate the light though because their deed are evil and they don't want everyone to see them for who they truly are.  Like cockroaches and other vermin the world scatters to the dark corners when the lights are turned on to try and hide from it and to try to remain unseen, yet there is coming a day when Jesus, the Light of the World will be at the center of everyone and everything and there will be no more need for an external light source as He will be the light of the city that we call the New Jerusalem and He will drive all the darkness away so that there will be no more night (or any kind of darkness).  All sin and rebellion will be gone and everything and everyone will be seen perfectly, including God Himself.  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12).