Gospel – John 1-2
Today we open a brand new book for our bible reading – The Gospel According to John. John, the writer of this book is assumed to be the beloved of Jesus. For 3 years, John lived, observed the workings of, and interacted with Jesus. In his writings, John faithfully recorded Jesus’ ministry with focus on the miracles and teachings of Jesus.
Bible Passage: John 1-2
Remember this children’s hymn? “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…” I caught myself humming this tune as I read Chapter 1. This chapter speaks of Jesus being the true Light, giving light to everyone in the world (John 1:9). This will be the focus of my sharing today.
What makes the light in us? How does God give us His Light?
Prov 20:27 tells us “the spirit of a man” or his conscience “is the lamp of the Lord”. God puts His lamp in each of us, in the form of our conscience.
This light shines and searches the inner depths of our hearts, discerning our thoughts and intents. We walk as children of light; our speech, actions and thoughts acceptable to God. What are things which are acceptable/not acceptable in God’s eyes? The Bible doesn’t explicitly state that we must not smoke, not have pre-marital sex, not wear hot-shorts, dye our hair red, purple and gold, have piercings or tattoos.
But the Lord’s lamp in our hearts provide the light for us to see clearly and discern that these actions are not beneficial to our spiritual well-being and may even harm our bodies.
I particularly like the English lyrics of Hymn 262 I Want A Principle Within.
“A sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near… Grant me the filial awe I pray, the tender conscience give”.
As Christians, we strive to renew ourselves constantly (Rom 12:2). Our conscience must remain tender enough to rebuke us when we lean towards the undesirable in God’s eyes.
Many societies and its people take pride in the fact that they are liberal thinkers. They value highly ‘freedom’ and indeed we see in liberal (pardon the pun) doses all around us – freedom to use vulgarities, to curse, freedom to practice homosexuality (The US state of New Hampshire is the 6th US state to legalize gay marriages), freedom to indulge in sexually explicit or implicit acts in the media and in public and the list goes on.
Things which we once found shocking and offensive we may begin to think of as normal and acceptable. Those practices that at one time we found revolting and unpalatable begin to take on an air of “normalcy.” And God’s laws and commands, which at one time were a beacon of truth and a standard to live up to, begin to seem old fashioned and outdated.
We must take extra care not to become desensitized and clouded over by the things we see around us, the effect being likened to our conscience being seared by hot iron (1 Tim 4:1-2). When we’re burnt, depending on the severity, our nerve endings will die, and we lose sensitivity to further prodding. The light within us dims gradually until we end up a charred mess.
In the midst of this bleak state of affairs, John 1:5 is encouraging – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend/overwhelm it”.
I chanced upon this quote by Mel Gill – No amount of darkness can ever blot out the light, yet the tiniest glimmer of light can destroy any darkness. Have you ever noticed how a slim bow of silver lining can disperse the darkest of skies?
Let the light of the Lord into our hearts today, and dispel any imminent notions of sin and wrongdoing. May the lamp which the Lord puts in each of our hearts shine with a steady beam to glorify His name!
I’ll leave us with 2 verses to chew on as we reflect on our actions, speech and thoughts today:
Rom 13:12-14
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Rev 21:7-8
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
5 Comments
PS
” The Bible doesn’t explicitly state that we must not smoke, not have pre-marital sex…..”???
1 Corth 6:9-10 says “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
i understand “fornicators” as people who commit sexual immorality (Acts 15:29) before marriage and “adulterers” as people who commit sexual immorality after marriage.
Please correct me if i m wrong.
If as believers, we only have hope for this life then we are more pitiful than all.
i will leave the “tattoos” for a later time.
maverick
Hmm…
I wonder why did Jesus perform His first miracle as water turn to wine.
Doesnt bible not condone drunkness as sin? I know some of my friends church say you can drink but know your limits and dont be drunk.On the other extreme, i have friends that dont touch food cooked with wine. So what is the line here? Can we drink or not drink?
Please advice.
Thanks
Flake
I think what joyousconcerto meant is that the bible does not state explicitly, that we cannot smoke, gamble, go clubbing, get a tattoo etc etc. All these are the norm in our society today.
God will not compel us to do anything, He has given us the freewill to choose our own actions and paths.
But we know that “All things are lawful for me,[a] but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me,[b] but not all things edify.” (1 Cor 10:23)
We can choose to do what we want, but ultimately we have to answer to God when we see Him. This is reiterated in today’s passage, 1 John 2:28 “….not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
In everything that we do and say, every church work that we do, we have to answer to God one day, why we did what we shouldn’t, or why we didn’t do what we should.
PS
When Lord Jesus instructed the servants to fill the waterpots with water. The servant did quietly.
When Lord Jesus said to them,”Draw some out now, and take to the master of the feast.” And they took it. Still not a word spoken.(John 2:7)
i imagine myself as one of the servants. “i” could fill the waterpots quietly, after all “i” m just a humble servant.(John 2:8)
When “i” received the instruction to draw out the water and take to the master of the feast, an assurance was given to “me” to follow the instruction. “i” could smell the fragrance of the good wine. “i” was dumbfound with awe. “i” could bring to the master of the feast with no fear.
We are told “to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mk16:15)
God gives us an assurance to proclaim loudly,”The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk1:15) God gives the Holy Spirit.
God gives us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that His kingdom exist.
God gives Himself again.
aquillofGod
Dear maverick,
there is absolutely nothing wrong with wine by itself.
Wine, like all other food, is given to man to enjoy by God. In the Old Testament, it was considered a blessing given by God (Deut 7:13) and also one given to one’s descendants (Gen 27:28). This is why Jesus turned water into wine in this miracle for it symbolised felicity for the newly-wedded couple and for the Jews, it would have been a total disaster if the wine ran out during a wedding feast.
Sadly, from the time it was made in Genesis 9, wine has always been associated with indulgence and debauchery. Also, much sin had been committed through the aid of wine (Lot and his daughters, the murder of Amnon). This is why many people view it as a great evil, when in fact, it is completely neutral. It had just been misused by people badly.
Thus, if we say that drinking wine is a sin, we might as well say eating is a sin because overeating will cause problems just like being drunk will. The sin is not in what we eat but when, where, why and how we eat. Paul, who emphasises on not being drunk and given to wine (Eph 5:18, Tit 2:3) suggests that Timothy drink a little wine for his health (1 Tim 5:23) thus it is clear that the main principle here is what applies to everything else in our lives – self-control. Another principle is what he mentions in Rom 14:21 – ‘It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.’
So, the conclusion of the matter? Drink but be careful when, where, how and even why you drink. 🙂