He'll Leave the Light on for Ya

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:4-5

It is important to be careful of where your mind wonders when you are sitting in church, you might be inspired to write something encouraging by that half distracted thought. I have a confession to make…I highlight possible devotional titles in the notes I take while sitting in church. Sometimes they come to nothing and sometimes they end up here for you to read. In this case Pastor Derek Varney was making a point using the opening verses of John’s Gospel. Pastor was using the New Living Translation which uses the phrase “can never be extinguished” in respect to the light that Jesus brought with Him into the world - that’s where I got distracted. 

As I sat listening, I heard another voice besides pastor’s and the Holy Spirit’s, it was the deep, soothing voice of Tom Bodett saying the tag line from those old Motel 6 commercials - you know “We’ll leave the light on for ya.” So I jotted down the title for this week’s devotion. 

It’s no secret that we live in a shadowy world, it has been a shadowy world since Eve and Adam made that fateful, selfish decision to disobey their creator. It was shadowy when the Israelites fled from Pharaoh at the first Passover, but God’s light was with them and it never went out - He left the light on for them. It was shadowy when the Israelites went into exile, but the light never went out - He left the light on for them. It was shadowy when a baby was born and laid in a manger, it was shadowy when that child now a man, sacrificed Himself to pay the sin debt of all mankind on a Roman cross, but Jesus has never left us - He left the light on for us. It is shadowy today and many wonder can it get much worse before He comes back? It doesn’t really matter you see His light is still here holding the true darkness back.

No matter what you are facing, no matter how dark your life seems to be getting - the light of Christ’s life giving love is still there. So when it feels like you might be overwhelmed by this shadowy world - remember His promise: “He’ll leave the light on for ya.” 

A Prayer
Father - Thank you for the light that holds back the darkness and fills our souls even when we feel overwhelmed by this dark and shadowy world. Help each one of us, in our own ways shine that light out to those around us so that they too can see the life giving love of Your Son. Help us always to remember that no matter what “He’ll leave the light on” for us. In the name of Jesus, who is the light of the world, Amen.