JUST THINKING: The Light of the World
I was just thinking — reminiscing — about the times my brother-in-law, Dr. Ron Mitchell, and I would take a group of men from Sky Lake Baptist Church in Memphis spelunking in caves near Mountain View. Before I get deeper into this article, I have a question: Have you ever been in a place so dark that you could absolutely see nothing? Those men and I have.
There was one cavern we had to crawl on our knees to get into. While we wore headlamps, I told the fellows to turn them off prior to getting up again in the place we had reached. As they stood up, each one began to feel his way, only to choose to stand still. They could not see anything. Then Ron told them to face where they heard him and, on the count of three, to turn on their headlamps. Before them was a magnificent flowstone backed by the formation called “bacon,” which resembled a tapestry. Below were rippled stones that appeared like steps. They were amazed by such an awesome formation that stays in utter darkness until the light shines on it.
The Need for Light in a Dark World
Humanity needs light because they dwell in darkness apart from God. In fact, the Bible says they actually like the darkness because their deeds are evil. The darkness is so real that they have no clue there is a loving, forgiving and redeeming God around them. They need a light that will cut through the darkness and allow them to see God. Thankfully, the Almighty had a plan that would do just that!
The Light of the World is Jesus
The plan was for God to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to walk among humans to shine a light in this dark world covered with darkness. Isaiah wrote, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isa. 9:2 NIV). Looking at that verse through New Testament eyes, we realize that the light Isaiah spoke of was Jesus Christ.
The apostle John informed us of the Light coming to the world. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 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 1:1-5).
As an eight-year-old, I heard J.P. Jones preach about how Jesus would save those who called on Him through repentance. As I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I kept thinking about dying, but all I could see was darkness. I immediately got up, went to my parents’ bedside and told them of my dilemma. They told me to remember what Bro. Jones had said earlier. That evening, I prayed asking Jesus to forgive me and save me from my sins. Immediately, I thought about dying — but this time, all I saw was light, glorious, peaceful light. That peace is one that no one can comprehend until he or she trusts Jesus.
In that cave almost 50 years ago, that group of men were in total darkness — until the lights shone on that magnificent flowstone. If you have unsaved friends or family, point them to Christ, who will light up their lives forever.
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Dr. Tom Mitchell
Dr. Tom Mitchell pens a column titled, Just Thinking, in which he addresses many topics relative to the Baptist Missionary Association. His Trailblazers series provides biographies of many BMA trailblazers from the past.
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