Is "The Light" Innate in Us?

The answer to this question, in spite of countless cinematic masterpieces, evocative song lyrics, pithy platitudes, our own high regard for ourselves, and endless public school positive affirmations that “the light” does indeed originate in us, is “No.”

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

From Finding Dory to the Star Wars franchise, from children’s books to self-help books, from New Ageism to Atheism, the sad reality is that “the light,” humanly translated into the language of self-esteem and “peace on earth,” has, is and always will be, darkness.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

“For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD almighty

will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:19-21

“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.'” John 8:12

Notice that the above verses state that Jesus is the light, who has come into a dark world. We can enter into His light and no longer walk in darkness.

It follows that if Jesus came into a dark world, and people still choose to stay in that dark world, that He did not turn the dark world into light. The dark world still exists. Jesus exists within that darkness. The only light available in that darkness—in that dark world—is the light of Christ.

It also follows that those who choose Him, and therefore, His light—the only light that brings people out of darkness—must continue to exist upon that dark world, only now to live in that world within the light of Christ.

I make this point because many non-believers mistakenly conclude that Christianity promotes a “never suffer again” proposition. And so people who make a profession of faith often disown that profession when the “never suffer again” bubble pops.

What they didn’t understand is that though we are saved in Christ and live in His light, we do it while still materially living in a fallen world.

How do we know this? From the prayer of Jesus Himself in John 17:

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of this world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:17-21

The glory of God, then—the peace on earth, good will toward men; the loving others as our selves—is this:

Upon this dark world Jesus has come, to bring good news to the poor, freedom for the captives, recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of His—the Lord’s—favor (Isaiah 61; Luke 4:18-19).

Who are the poor? All of us because we all live in the poverty of darkness.

Who are the captives? All of us because we all live captive to the darkness.

Who is blind? All of us because the god of this age has blinded us.

Who are the oppressed? All of us because we all live in the oppression of darkness.

What is the year of God’s favor? The light of Christ entering into that darkness and rescuing us from it: not from the world, but from the darkness that is the world, and the darkness that is us without the light of Christ.

“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Here is the joy and glory of Christmas, the coming of the light of Christ:

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

‘Wake up, sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.’” Ephesians 5:8-14

These words are spoken to the physically alive, who must, as Jesus clearly and compassionately taught Nicodemus, die and be born again in the Spirit of Christ (John 3).

The idea of a secular, “inner light,” as beautifully and artistically presented as that may be from a humanistic perspective, is only a façade; a sad joke played on a people who so want to convince themselves that they, in their own humanly-bred, self-aggrandized, inner-striving for independence, can be their own light. A people who, through a fairy tale of their own imagining, can pretend that if they just “believe in themselves,” then everything will be all right.

This is no light. It is a counterfeit.

“I am the light of the world,” says Jesus. 

Find Christ and we find the Light.

How I Understand Free Will

Dictionary.com defines free will as “free and independent choice. Voluntary decision.”

So how does that mesh with a God who is in control, omniscient, and unchanging?

The best way I’ve come to understand it is that since we are created by God, and God gave us brains, then God created us to be discerning individuals. Therefore, we have been given the ability to discern; to make choices when confronted with various options.

The best example I’ve come across to explain this was provided by my husband:

“A child has the choice between apple and cherry pie. The parent knows that the child loves apple pie and will choose the apple pie. The parent does not force the child to choose the apple pie. It is freely available to the child, as is the cherry pie. The child chooses the apple pie, just as the parent knew they would."

God knows the actions and outcomes of everything and everyone. Nothing surprises Him. That doesn’t mean he is forcing our hand.

God knows our hearts at every moment and He desires us to make the choice that is best for us, and of course, He knows what that best choice is. But He also knows what we ultimately will choose.

From a Christian perspective, the word “independent” in the dictionary definition deserves a caveat: although we have fee will, we are dependent upon God in the sense that He is the one who equipped us with free will.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

We cannot act “independently” of God in the sense that we cannot act independently of His enabling us to have willpower in the first place!

Just like we cannot walk, talk, eat or even be alive without God equipping us with legs, mouth, tongue, teeth and breath, we cannot will ourselves to do anything without first being gifted with the thing called a will.

However, where we walk, how we talk, what, where, when and how we eat, and the manner in which we choose to live are choices God has freely given us to will for ourselves: the free will we are now discussing. 

We use the act of the will (a noun) which He gave us to make our own choices freely; God does not choose for us how to use our will.

I realize this is a very condensed, and perhaps simplistic, summation. However, I also know that the outright rejection of God by many people stems from an inability to find simpatico between a Sovereign God and free will.

I certainly do not claim to rightly explain or fully enumerate free will (please continue to explore free will on your own and do not merely take my word for it. Again, this is where I have landed thus far in my studies of the Scriptures. Use it as a launch pad for your own inquiry).

I have come to this current understanding within the overarching exclamation of Paul who cried out:

“Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Romans 11:33

With that, I continue now to look at how the will—the ability to will—that is given to us by God, is able to work itself out.

I believe the main way is through people coming to realizations themselves.

That’s why I believe Jesus asked so many questions.

That’s why I believe God sent Jesus down to earth as a baby.

That’s why I believe that suffering, although no one wants to go through it, can result in an ultimately stronger position, namely, freedom in Christ.

If we look in Scripture where it is noted that entire households were saved and where many who heard and accepted the message believed and were baptized, it isn’t because Jesus commanded or threatened them, or even that He debated and argued with them.

It was because He, or one of His apostles, patiently and painstakingly stayed the course in making simple statements and observations, regardless of the reactions of the crowd or individual.

He helped these statements and observations along with miracles, using them to aid people in coming to their own realization that Jesus is indeed the Christ.

That is also why I believe Jesus spoke in parables: He wanted people to think and, in a sense, work out their salvation (Philippians 2:12) by seeing and comprehending the source of salvation with their own hearts and minds, not under compulsion but willingly and of their own volition.

Those who were open (humble and contrite) to the Spirit of Christ pursued the Spirit of Christ—Christ Himself—by listening with an open (childlike) mind and then settled their minds on the absolute truth of the Man of Galilee. That He is, indeed, what He says He is: the Son of God who came to do God’s will in bringing the sheep into His sheepfold (John 6:37-40; John 10:1-18; Matthew 11:27).

It is also the reason, I conclude, that Jesus asks questions.

If any of us desires to improve our communication skills, we will find no better example of listening than Jesus, who, by asking questions of others, got His message across and impacted their lives, and thus, the world.

By asking a question, Jesus put the ball in the other person’s court.

When we are asked a question, it is now upon us to be the one making statements.

It is up to us to answer the question of how to go forward, to flesh out what has gone right or wrong in the past.

It is up to us to answer the question of how things are working—or not, for us.

It is up to us to make the determination of where we’ve been, where we are and where we hope to go.

We are finally put in a position to think through and perhaps challenge within ourselves our suppositions, biases, platitudes, ideologies, sound bites and agendas we’ve latched onto without sober consideration or logical perusal.

This is how we arrive at foundational conclusions instead of someone else’s, and the world’s, “shoulds.” 

This is how we finally address the question about the Lord God: by at long last being confronted with the Questioner who implores, but doesn’t commandeer, an answer.

This is how we determine whom or what this day we shall serve (Joshua 24:15).

Because, as folksinger Bob Dylan points out in his song Gotta Serve Somebody, if we think we are remaining independent by rejecting God, think again:

“Still, you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes

You’re gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

As for suffering and free will: if there is anything that really gets our attention, that brings us to the end of our self, it is suffering. Our state at the beginning of suffering and our state upon exiting it is a matter of free will.

Suffering gives us a choice: to acknowledge that we’re not in control of ourselves, others, the weather, bosses, corporations, nature, health and disease; or to continue to carry on, stubbornly convinced that if we simply try harder, then suffering, in all its manifestations, will never happen again.

Many people have found the Light of Life through suffering. In other words, they have come to the realization of the Light only through darkness.

Finally, I simply cannot reject free will in view of of Jesus’ call (not demand) to come to Him:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon You and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

And this, from Matthew 23:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling (v. 37, emphasis added).

And to seek Him:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8; also in Luke 11, with the added, “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”)

And then, just a few verses later,

“Enter through the narrow gate...and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13a; 14b)

Why would Jesus make these requests and statements, along with other calls in Scripture, if we are already pre-programmed by God to automatically act?

And how, then, could anyone refuse Jesus, if we are pre-programmed by God to believe in Him?

It’s like this: if my spouse is pre-programmed by God to love me, no matter what I do and regardless of my personality and uniqueness, will I be content with that?

Is that love?

If every relationship on earth is based on a pre-programmed love, then love is not love but a sterile, safe, benign existence within a fake community of automatons.

God Himself doesn’t want that kind of love from us:

The most important commandment, singled out by Christ Himself in Mark 12:30, is this:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (also found in Matthew 22:37-38).

That is passionate, not automated, love!

(Just a side note here about the word “commandment.” This is commanded—not commandeered---by Christ, and is left up to us whether we follow the command or not. And yes, although Jesus requires it, again, He does not coerce. A teacher commands that we take a test and pass it in order to graduate, but we are not forced. We can choose to either not take the exam, or to not study and thus do poorly on it and as a result, not graduate. All are choices we make in the face of a command).

God would not be a just God if He gave us no choice.

Even in His loving correction, as a parent corrects their child, can be found no dictatorship, since, just as a child can continue to misbehave or run away from home, we can rebel against God's correction and run away from Him.

God does everything in His power—which includes His power to work within His created plan of free will—to draw us to Himself.

But still some do not seek, do not ask, do not knock, do not find, do not receive and do not enter.

That is the power of God: the Authority to empower His creation to choose.

copyright Barb Harwood

Think Too Much?

I recently heard a person say that they “think too much and need to stop.”

That’s an interesting thought, something to definitely think about!

I'm not sure what kind of thinking the person was referring to, but since they were feeling the need to stop, it must be having a negative impact on their life.

Obviously not all thinking is bad. One could make the argument that some don't think nearly enough!

I myself, like many people, have always shown a proclivity to ponder, to gaze out the window, to observe.

That's not the same as being a dreamer, where one conjures up “magical what-ifs” or detailed plans and schemes for a chimerical future. Those who ponder simply have the knack for sitting—sometimes for extended periods—taking in what already is or has been and passively reflecting upon it.

This sort of thoughtful considering is what I like to call the innocent pastime of thought. 

Then there is the not so innocent pastime of thought: the commiserating, internalizing, “making molehills into mountains” train of thought that exaggerates, stews on, is perpetually offended, ridicules constantly, picks apart how other people do things and incessantly questions and accuses the motives of nearly everyone.

I call this the merciless intention of a critical spirit.

I found myself in that merciless state of mind quite often before the age of 38, which is the age at which Christ got hold of me.

In the seventeen years since having become a disciple of Christ, I can honestly say that the winnowing away, the cleaning and renewing of my heart and mind, of having a right thought-life instilled within me, has been the most arduous aspect of being a follower of Christ.

And the process, believe me, continues in full force!

But so far—again, with much more regenerating yet to be done—the cleaning of the arteries has been exceedingly rewarding. The benefits are never-ending and constantly enlivening.

How can I describe the first time I was able to sit, finally, among people and refrain from internally critiquing their every move? To calmly watch a person struggle to do something or make a mistake and respond with unlimited patience and even a sense of humor!? Imagine my surprise when I encountered an actual, verifiable fault in someone and did not feel the need to correct, make a comment to or malign in any way!

All because Christ showed me that this is how He first loved me, in the midst of my bad moves, mistakes and verifiable faults.

James expounds a powerful, convicting truth:

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10).

This cursing might remain verbally unspoken, but if we speak it to ourselves in our hearts, it is spoken nonetheless, and often comes to light in an attitude of ill will toward another.

This kind of “too much thinking” derives from a hardened and darkened heart. In order to attack the thinking (and the words that may result) we attack the source, the heart:

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere" (James 3:13-17 emphasis added).

Jesus said:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them’” (Matthew 15:7-11, emphasis added).

Jesus was supporting the truism:

“The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

In answer to that last question, “Who can understand the heart?” The answer is God.

“I, the LORD, search the heart,

I test the mind,” (Jeremiah 17:10a).

“And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

“But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person” (John 2:24-25).

“And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8-9).

At this point, I’m shaking in my boots! In a good way, though, because conviction of our hearts is what cleanses our hearts.

Our culture is so afraid of shame and feeling personally bad about ourselves. But folks, let me be very honest here, shame and feeling personally bad before God is the only thing that will make way for us to ever feel joy, love and confidence before God and to ever be able to love others as ourself. 

Certainly we will be downcast as our sin is exposed through the Spirit of Christ. The battle with our thought life may be a vicious one, like it has been and still is at times for me.

But we are not to remain discouraged or daunted.

  

And as we experience victory over the sin, we may feel disconsolate at times from having sinned in the past, and perhaps having hurt others in the process. We can turn then to the Psalms, understanding that we are forgiven:

“Why are you so downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5-6a; repeated in verse 11 and Psalm 43:5).

We press on toward the goal, as Paul writes in Philippians 3, aware that we have not yet achieved it but are in the process of achieving it. That means that we are actually seeing progress, and as we do, we go on to achieve more, not striving in our own power, but willingly obeying the Spirit of Christ moment by moment.

Which brings me back to what I began with, thinking too much: specifically, thinking unproductive thoughts that breed discourse and darkness, causing us to turn away from God.

The Bible gives wisdom, if we so choose to follow it, on how to put aside the insidious indulgences and unholy urges of the mind and heart. In other words, how to stop, indeed, thinking too much!:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” (Philippians 4:1 emphasis added)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (4-9, emphasis added)

In this way

"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Why Did Jesus Come?

Many people assume, or claim to have studiously arrived at the conclusion, that Jesus was not born of a virgin and was just an extraordinary human being who had a gentle predisposition for kindness that resulted in moral living.

Some of the people who assume or claim this, but not all, have decided that they will take Jesus—along with other self-appointed role models and heroes—and aim to incorporate some of their traits into their own life.

N.T. Wright, writing in his book, After You Believe, makes an excellent point about “Jesus as only a moral teacher”:

“...the suggestion that we treat Jesus as a moral example can be, and in some people’s thinking has been, a way of holding at arm’s length the message of God’s kingdom on the one hand and the meaning of his death and resurrection on the other. Making Jesus the supreme example of someone who lived a good life may be quite bracing to contemplate, but it is basically safe: it removes the far more dangerous challenge of supposing that God might actually be coming to transform this earth, and us within it, with the power and justice of heaven, and it neatly helps us avoid the fact, as all four gospels see it, that this could be achieved only through the shocking and horrible event of Jesus’s death. Jesus as “moral example” is a domesticated Jesus, a kind of religious mascot. We look at him approvingly and decide we’ll copy him (up to a point at least, and no doubt he’ll forgive us the rest because he’s a decent sort of chap). As if! If all we need is a good example, we can’t be in quite such a bad state as some people (including Jesus himself) have suggested.”

N.T. Wright goes on to say that the result of this line of thinking is that the teachings of Jesus become, not only voluntary, but “a suggestion that an ordinary human being can actually resist sin if he or she tries hard enough, and that observing how Jesus did it will enable us to do so.”

While Jesus, indeed, does model the way to live and be, so that we might live and be the same, what Jesus models can be comprehended only with the open eyes of someone who is indwelt by His Spirit through faith in Him. As 1 Corinthians 2 makes clear:

“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:12-14.

So try following Jesus' "moral example" on your own. It can't happen, because we won't even know where or how to begin. This is the spiritual blindness Jesus came to cure. 

Jesus is not a man-made good chap, enlightened thinker, or chill guru, as many would have—and especially desire—us to believe.

Jesus is the Lord God our Savior. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a Virgin and came to free the captives (us) from ourselves, from evil, and from worldly darkness.

He came so that we do not have to endure the futility of trying to save ourselves and live according to a constantly morphing morality of our own, or another person’s, making.

He came to set things right: the world and everything in it.

He came to do what only He can do. If humans could have done this of their own volition, then He wouldn’t have needed to come. But as the Corinthians verse points out, we cannot discern the things of God until we enter His Kingdom. And that’s why Jesus came: to bring the Kingdom to us so we can enter it here and now.

Copyright Barb Harwood

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-20

Rejoice!

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,..."
Zechariah 9:9a

Hope

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, 
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, 
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28-31