In the light or in the dark?
I have taken the stance that you need to know the hill you are prepared to die on as it not only dictates other important, black-or-white life choices; it also provides the framework for the limitations required to lead a life defined by balance. Nothing could be truer than in one’s spiritual life.
Bible in prison, not in school
During a cursory scrolling on Pinterest the other day, I saw a pin that set me thinking, especially in the light of what we discussed last week. This is what it said: “Sadly, you can read the Bible in prison but not in school.” Laws around the world are different, but many have there been who bemoan taking the Bible out of schools. In the light of this, what a profound statement to make and how lives could have proceeded to take on a different course if only the Bible was revered before some people found themselves incarcerated in a prison cell.
It is somewhat ironic that people desperately want inmates to get a copy of the Holy Scriptures in order to help prisoners to rehabilitate their lives, but not so much in society at large. Generally, in modern, secular life, the Bible seems to be marginalised, relegated to the sidelines while we follow all kinds of other pursuits. Perhaps, if more people followed the precepts set out within its pages, we would have fewer problems with overcrowding in prisons. If this is not your worldview, you may, of course, beg to differ, but it is surely a thought worth pondering upon.
Law enforcement
Stiff sentences and punitive measures are, no doubt, deterrents for virulent crime – consider countries that have a strict rule of law and even more stringent enforcement. People know that any misdemeanour will be severely dealt with and that there are consequences. Juxtapose that to sunny South Africa where theft is rife, where South Africans hug our bags close to our bodies and, as a nation, we are so used to hearing about hijackings and smash and grabs, not to mention other petty crime and not-so-petty crimes. We, sadly, fall short and have a crime-ridden society as a result.
Even though it would appear that rigorous enforcement of rules provides a robust deterrent for the prevention of crime, what if one finds oneself in a system where freedoms are taken away completely and you find yourself powerless at the hands of a powerful and forceful regime. You see, balance of power, rule and authority is needed. The right amount of rules restricts what is bad to keep the good like freedom, creativity and autonomy in. Something worth considering surely?
On that note, back to the Bibles in prisons – lest I ungrateful, I am not; it is wonderful that offenders do have an opportunity to see the light, how great is the grace of God that the Bible is very accessible to prisoners. But the Word also has the power to set us mere mortals free from the sting of sin. After Jesus experienced the temptation by Satan in the wilderness, he read his manifesto of sorts in a synagogue in Nazareth – I quote Luke 4:18-19, New International Version, as follows:
18 “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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Freedom
If you are not experiencing freedom or love, peace and joy, it is highly likely that sin is the culprit robbing you of peace of mind, etc. Yes, there it is again, theft, daylight robbery even if you could put a price to the misery. It is again worth mentioning John 10:10 again.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. It refers to Satan as the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy.
It refers to Satan as the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. It is clear, while Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin, there is another who is all too willing and pleased to lead us straight into it. Did he not try to tempt even Jesus when He was on the planet? And he still has the same old tricks in his playbook – he is still skulking around somewhere looking for an opportune time to hit us with temptation. Why wouldn’t he be? It is what he has been doing since the beginning as the Bible reveals. The Scripture passage in 1 John 3:8 describes it as follows:
8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Love, joy and peace
Conversely, the fruit of the spirit delivers something different, I quote the passage in Galatians 5:22-23 as follows:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The world we find ourselves in is sorely in need of these qualities described as fruit of the Spirit. Everyone wants to be loved, experience joy and peace as well as kindness and goodness. Yet violence, hatred, rudeness, crudeness, and confusion as well as intolerance of religion and common sense all reign supreme.
Interestingly, there are two leaders who define a completely different way to navigate this world. One is out to destroy you and the Other is out to destroy the devil’s work. The Bible assures us that Jesus had never sinned, not even once, when he walked on the planet. Let us read 1 Peter 2:22-23 together, shall we:
22 ‘“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.’
Take a stand
Knowing that, which one of the two would you prefer to be around 24/7/365 for eternity? There is an inescapable choice that has to be made – between the one who was sinful from the beginning, the one who is synonymous with sin and deeds of darkness, versus the other One who has been sinless and promises life. And that choice will determine our eternal destiny. For me, it is a no-brainer. So why is it then so hard, this choosing life thing and Jesus as Saviour?
Is it because perhaps we are called to stand up for beliefs that to some seem uncool; beliefs that will mandate a change of behaviour that will set us at odds with people we admire and probably be the reason why we would no longer fit in with the cool crowd? Is it worth it if we consider the present and eternal consequences? These are questions that are imperative for all of us to wrestle with.
Additionally, the passage in 2 Corinthians 4:4 provides a different perspective entirely:
4 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.
I can relate to living in spiritual blindness, I promise you. As a regular churchgoer born into a Christian family, it never dawned on me that I had to have a personal relationship with God, not hang on the coattails of faith of our minister or my parents.
Without even blinking, I would have assured you that I was a Christian with an unwavering “Yes”. Until I was confronted with the Scriptures and saw the sin that reigned in my heart and separated me from God. I was entirely fooled by the god of this age as the Bible calls the devil. Can you perhaps relate to that? And the devil still gives me a good run for my money most days.
Formerly, I had walked into the trap of religiosity and fallen prey to Satan’s lies, but by his glorious grace, Jesus stepped in. The passage in 2 Timothy 2:26 perhaps applied to me then, I quote:
26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
There was a reason for all the strife in my life, the devil had taken me captive. Have you ever thought that the devil may have taken you captive to do his will? Jesus, the Word of God as Revelation calls him, is the only one who can set you free from the trap that Satan has set.
Furthermore, this is such a part of the spiritual war I touched on last week, which is a concerted effort by Satan to get humans to disobey the Lord. Think about the times you felt that you were forced to do something, to compromise your values, to tell a white lie as people call it to save face the so-called being economical with the truth, to avoid being in trouble in some way and avoiding taking responsibility for something as a result. Often, all these are driven by fear. Any guesses as to who rules by fear and who rules by love?
God’s goodness
God is described as love and his number one quality is goodness. Besides being one of the fruits of the Spirit, the Bible emphatically declares that God is love – please read 1 John 4:8 for reference. The Old Testament Scripture, Exodus 33: 18-19 confirms the goodness as being God’s glory, I quote:
“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me you glory.” 19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.
If you haven’t yet taken a stand, which one will you choose to embrace today? Astonishingly, this miracle-working Jesus came to model servanthood to us. Mark 10:45 reveals the following:
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Amazingly, Jesus did not come to lord it over us even though he is Lord. In contrast, the Bible has revealed that Satan desired to usurp God’s position. Just from that stance, it is clear why God has commanded us not to envy each other. Imagine living in a world where no one envies your stuff, job, family, just getting on with their own lives. How much strife could have been avoided by simply adhering to just this one commandment? Think about it.
The Light of the world
In summation of these last two episodes, the Bible has revealed that Jesus is the Light of the world. In Genesis 1:2 the earth was recorded as being formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. A preacher pointed out that the first thing God said was: “Let there be light, “ before he made the sun and the moon. Interesting, isn’t it?
Darkness is usually synonymous with Satan and his minions. Therefore, let us focus on darkness in the general sense, the passage in Ephesians 5:11-16 describes deeds of darkness as follows:
11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
The Christian way of life diametrically opposes what society condones in some cases. That is why it is so hard to take a stand – and other people often feel affronted because they feel judged by said stand. To boot, I will not deny, I have made mistakes; I have not been a great example of Christlikeness myself. Notwithstanding, I am overjoyed because like I mentioned before – Jesus stands alone. He alone is perfect – from the beginning for all eternity, the Alpha and Omega as he is called in Revelation.
He has at his disposal legions of angels and a Kingdom that will last for ever. The Devil on the other hand also has at his disposal a third of the fallen angels that left God’s domain, but their eventual reckoning is coming and their fate is sealed. Read the text in Revelation 12:9 as follows:
9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
God holds power over them as well, read 2 Peter 2:4 that states:
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darknessto be held for judgment …”
One victor, once and for all
There can only be one victor for eternity. This is what the Bible said about Jesus’ victory on the cross in Colossians 2:15:
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Ultimately, by shedding his blood on the Cross, Jesus triumphed over Satan for all eternity. It was the beginning of the end for him. Our reality is seeing the very end of Satan. The story of earth as we know it ends with the devil being thrown into the Abyss for a time before eventually occupying a lake of burning sulphur for all eternity while Jesus, the Lamb of God, will come back victorious roaring as the Lion of Judah.
Which side will you be on that day? There is no room for anyone sitting on the fence. After all, Humpty Dumpty tried sitting on the wall in his case and had a big fall. No, the time has come to decide. There are no grey areas, it is also written in the Word of God in black and white. Hopefully, this has moved the needle in your thinking a little bit. Next week, we hail the King.
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