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Tuesday (Day 24)

VERSES: John 1:9-18

Many years ago in a 1964 game against the 49ers, a Minnesota Viking defensive end recovered a fumble and (in the confusion of the moment) got turned around and ran 66 yards THE WRONG WAY into his own end zone. Thinking he just scored a touchdown, he threw the ball out of bounds in celebration, resulting in a safety. Though he worked hard and sincerely thought he scored, he was mistaken. Instead of “winning,” he was “losing” - that moment at least.

In today’s passage, Jesus is referred to as both “life” and “light.” These are two things that all of humanity wants and needs. In fact, they are intimately connected. You cannot have life without light. When God created the world at the beginning of all things, He FIRST created light, as it was necessary for everything else to survive (Genesis 1:3). Though all of us want and need life and light, we sometimes run the wrong way to find them.

In the confusion of life, it is all too easy for us to get turned around and headed in the wrong direction. Sometimes we think that Jesus wants death and darkness for us . . . to remove the fun out of life by telling us what we cannot do. In the temptation of everyday life, we scoop up an “opportunity” and run in the opposite direction of Christ, headed towards drugs, pornography, an affair, gossip, greed, etc., thinking that if we run hard enough in that direction, we will “win.” The problem is, these temptations do not produce the celebrations we desire. When we reach that “end zone,” like the Vikings “wrong way run,” we find shame and not satisfaction.

When John tells us that Jesus is both life and light, he is like a coach reminding us which goal line we were created to move towards. Jesus does ask us to follow Him as He heads in a particular direction . . . but that direction is always life and not death; it is light and not darkness. This is not to say that there will not be challenges as we follow Christ . . . but it is to say that those challenges are momentary, while the “win” is eternal. When we do not follow Christ, it is just the opposite . . . the ecstatic feelings are fleeting, but the “loss” lasts.

Jesus wants to light your house this Christmas with His life. Will you follow Him?