August 2025: Do You Bask in the Light or Wallow in Darkness?

Published on 08/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

What kind of people appeal to you?

I think it's safe to guess that you're attracted to those who are loving, caring, understanding, smart and funny. Am I not too far from the mark?

You know what? Our Lord Jesus is all this in perfection, and so much more! (Funny? Is Christ funny? He sure has a sense of humor when he had Peter fish up a coin to pay their taxes out of a fish's mouth! [Matthew 17:27].)

The only reasonable response to Jesus' perfectly goodness should be to love him. Yet the world hates him! Before his sacrifice, Jesus told his disciples, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his lord.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do to you for my name's sake, because they don't know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I hadn't done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn't have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.'" (John 15:18-25, WEB)

This is the last truth that Jesus taught Nicodemus during their night meeting: the world's hatred of him.

Light Versus Darkness

"This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God." (John 3:19-21)

To clean out the rubbish and the dirt from a dark closet, we need to turn on the light, which will reveal or expose to us all the dirty areas. Like physical light, symbolic light (the goodness of God and Jesus who is the true light of life) exposes humans' wickedness (darkness).

Take the Bible as an example. The Bible reveals to us that fornication, stealing and lying are all works of darkness. The Bible acts as light that exposes our sinful activities. Wicked people hate the Bible because it tells them that their works are evil (it shines light upon their darkness). Thus, no wicked people willingly receives the light of God and of Jesus.

But those who do the good works of God are happy to go under the light, as the light of God will reveal that their works are as bright as God desires it. God's light will testify that their works are done in accordance with His will, and done with His empowerment, and done to glorify Him.

Light and darkness do not mix, as oil and water. Light easily overcomes the darkness, as once you turn on lights in a dark room, the darkness immediately vanishes.

Jesus came into the world as the true light. But so many people then and now hate him because he exposes their works of darkness. They choose darkness over him. Only those who love him and his Father joyously come to him so he can reveal their good works to glorify God.

This is a fitting truth lesson to conclude Nicodemus's secret meeting with Jesus. He went to the Lord under the cloak of darkness. Why? Because he saw how his fellow religious leaders unfavorably viewed Jesus and he was therefore uncomfortable with seeking the Lord out lest they view him unfavorably, too. At this point in his life, he admired Jesus secretly. He was more concerned about man's approval of him than how God would have viewed him. This is a most unfortunate state to be in: when you are not proud to serve the Lord but instead act ashamed of him.

The King's Ministry Versus His Forerunner's Work

Jesus stayed and ministered in Judea following his meeting with Nicodemus. At that time, there arose an issue regarding Jesus' ministry and the ministry of John the Baptizer. This conflict illustrates much about the sin nature of humanity.

In Judea, Jesus' disciples baptized the repentant Jews, while John was baptizing in Enon near Salim. Jesus' disciples and John were perhaps baptizing people on different parts of the west bank of the Jordan.

Noticing that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John, some of the Jews, likely including John's disciples, reported it to John, saying, "Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him." (John 3:26)

These people noted to John how Jesus, the one who was with him on the east bank of the Jordan and whom he himself testified about, was baptizing people and everyone was flocking to him. They viewed John's ministry and Jesus' ministry as two competitions vying for popularity rather than John's ministry leading people to Jesus' ministry. They were alarmed that John's popularity was waning.

This incident is one example where the sin nature produces in people wrong attitude about even the most godly activity such as ministry. Christians often act like non-Christians where they fight for position and popularity rather than exhibit humility. Large churches boast of high membership, while small congregations are looked down upon. Churches thus often compete with one another to gain the largest membership. This attitude is unrighteous and far from Christ-like or even John-like, as we'll see.

We as Christians should not behave as the world does. We should understand that every work that an individual Christian does complements the works that other Christians do. We should strive to work in harmony instead of competing with one another. Moreover, it's one's quality of work that matters, not the quantity. A house church that has ten members who live by the Bible is much more precious to God than a cathedral that has one thousand attendees who do not live according to God's will.

The Wisdom and Humility of the Forerunner

Hearing the Jews' report, John quickly corrected their perspective with these words: "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:27-30)

John humbly noted that every person's purpose or mission is given by God. No one has anything if it's not given to them from above. In his case, John received the mission to be only the forerunner to the Messiah, nothing more and nothing less. He was not the Messiah, as he plainly declared to the Jews, but was the one who came before the Messiah to announce the Messiah's arrival.

John likened Jesus to the bridegroom and himself to the friend of the bridegroom. In the wedding, the bridegroom is the focus, not the friend. It's the groom who married the bride, and the friend was there to share in his joy. Thus, it's right for the Messiah to become the focus of the Jews, not John the forerunner. It's John's mission to lead people to Jesus, and he rejoiced in doing so, and his joy was made full when he had completed what he was assigned by God to do. Now it's time for him to decrease and fade away and for Jesus to increase and become the sole focus of the world.

We must take John's words and humble attitude to heart and learn from him. His is a walk that all of us must walk. To fight for position and popularity does not demonstrate the attitude of John, let alone that of Jesus.

Furthermore, John noted how vastly different Jesus was from him: "He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all." (John 3:31)

Jesus was originally from heaven, whereas John was an ordinary man born on Earth. Jesus who came from heaven was therefore much more superior than John. The One who came from heaven speaks of heavenly things, while the one who came from the dust of the ground spoke earthly things. In other words, Jesus gives much greater revelation than John could ever give due to their origins.

The Low Reception Rate of the King

Lastly, John testified to the fact that very few people receive the witness of Jesus: "What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won't see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (John 3:32-36)

These are the last-recorded words of John prior to his imprisonment perpetrated by Herod Antipas. He noted how, in reality, very few people, almost to none, accepted Jesus's testimony of what Jesus knows from God, even though "everyone" was going to Jesus to be baptized. Though Jesus came from God and taught God's truths that he personally saw and heard while he lived with his Father in heaven, many people rejected his words. But those who believed in him and accepted his testimony put a "seal" on or confirmed that God's revelation is trustworthy because God is a God of truth. To believe in Jesus' testimony is to believe in God since Jesus' revelation came from God. To deny Jesus' words is to deny God and call God a liar.

Yahweh God sent Jesus to speak His truth, empowered by the Holy Spirit, which God gave to him without measure. God gave into His Son's hand all things to govern because He loves him dearly. Through His Son, God gives eternal life to those who believe in His Son. But His wrath remains on those who disobey His Son. They will not have eternal life.

How do you respond to the true light of life? Do you gladly go under his light to bask in his ardent love for you? Or do you rather shun his light to remain in your dark corner so you can wallow in your sins like a pig in the mud? Or are you somewhat in the middle, approaching the light secretly as if the Lord is the worst person instead of the most beautiful being in the world?


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26, NIV) What did he mean?

Answer: Jesus' words can be better understood by reading a parallel passage with different rewording: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn't worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37, WEB)

As Christians, God and Jesus must come first, others come second, and we third. No one else but Yahweh God Almighty and Jesus should occupy the number one spot in our heart and mind. They are whom we must please foremost.

If anyone, even our most loved ones such as our parent, child or spouse, rejects God and orders us to do the same, we must choose God over their order. We are to honor our mother and father; but the only time we should "dishonor" them is when we choose God over them. If they or anyone else tell us to do something in contrary to God's precepts and principles, we must refuse. If they demand us to choose either them or God, we must choose God. This may mean being kicked out of our homes and disinherited. Indeed, this is what many Christians have chosen.

If our government commands us to do something sinful or forbids us to become a Christian, we must disobey. By doing so, we may be executed. This is the tough decisions that many Christians have to make, particularly in countries where Christianity is illegal.

If we strongly desire to do something but it goes against God's will, then we must restrain ourselves from doing it, rather than to justify our actions. For instance, homosexual people who love those of the same gender and wish to get married must restrain from doing so because God declares that homosexual lifestyle is a sin. However, the gay community justifies their sins by saying, "Doesn't God tell us to love one another? How could there be anything wrong with pure love?" It's wrong because you love yourself more than God. If you love God and Jesus foremost, you would sacrifice and deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Christ.

As Jesus said, we must "hate" our parents, our children, our spouses, and even our lives to be worthy to be his disciples. "Hate" in this sense is the absence of "priority love" that is reserved for God and Jesus only. We must not love anyone else more than we love God and Jesus. We must "hate" all others in comparison. We must be willing to abandon all in order to follow him, and "all" includes our earthly life. When we do, we will gain eternal life and fellowship with Yahweh and Jesus, the Beings of our adoration.

Although Christianity is not illegal in the US, Christians still have to make the choice between loving foremost God and Jesus and loving their family or friends. Christians who live by God's Word are often ridiculed and called "ignorant" and "naive." Some are even called "haters" when they speak out against homosexuality and gay marriage. For such genuine Christians, they are correct when they aim to please God more than man, to choose God and Jesus over man, to live by the divine laws than manmade laws that are filled with sin and warped justice.

As Jesus said, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

Persecution is to be expected when we live a genuinely Christian life. If you have been mocked at or worse for the sake of Christ, rejoice, for your reward is great: entrance into the Kingdom of God. Do not give up! The cost of discipleship is costly, yes, but its divine blessings (such as eternal fellowship with God) far surpass its costs!

Do you love God and Jesus most of all? Your lifestyle will answer this question for you!

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

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