ENLIGHTENED & ILLUMINATED

“Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

John 11:9, 10

I do not walk outside after dark.  It’s not that I am afraid of people; it’s the sidewalks I fear.  In the neighborhoods where I live the sidewalks are old and in disrepair.  Tree roots elevate some of the stone slabs and create an inch high obstacle to be avoided; or crumbling stone slabs of stone create an inch deep obstacle also to be avoided.  In the daylight these hazards are visible and can be avoided.  But at night they are hidden and make walking safely a challenge.

I know this experientially having tripped on one of the elevated slabs one night, falling flat on my face and spending several weeks with my face looking like a punching bag for Muhammad Ali.  I still vividly remember the feeling of complete helplessness of that freefall where face met stone, so I don’t walk these areas when it is dark, for fear of stumbling.

My life as a follower of Jesus is a paradox; while the fullness of the Holy Spirit resides within me, teaching and leading me in my walk, there is also an outer standard of rule, a plumb line to measure my life with.  Both the subjective, experiential truth within me and the objective truth consisting of laws and precepts of God outside of me combine to give me the whole and absolute Truth.  One without the other is like walking in the dark and makes it easy to stumble.

The history of Christianity is a testimony of what happens when Spirit and Truth are not embraced together.  I know this experientially, having been involved in groups who held to one but not the other; people were harmed and many left their faith in sorrow and confusion, disillusion and despair.

Truth without Spirit yields a legalistic format that must be adhered to at all cost and those who don’t are punished and banished from the group.  Spirit without Truth yields a lawlessness freefall where anything goes and turns into chaos and disorder with little or no stability or sustainability.  The illusiveness of Spirit and the absolute of Truth must be embraced together, creating a healthy and holistic balance in the life of a believer and follower of Jesus.  The light of Jesus enlightens me inwardly and illumines me outwardly so I can walk in His Way.

“The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world…I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 1:9; John 8:12).

God, feed me with Your Presence and Your Word, that I might live an enlightened and illumined life, following You in Spirit and in Truth.  Amen.