John 12:46 – Verse of the Day 2/16/14

At the end of John 12, Jesus summarized the purpose of his earthly ministry, and the rest of John’s Gospel is taken up with the teaching he offered to his disciples and the narrative of his trial, death, and resurrection. This verse offers a nice bookend, matching the statements of the first chapter of John’s Gospel that tell us that Jesus came into the world as light into darkness (John 1:3-9). Jesus is the light, and anyone who believes in Him lives according to the light.

It is interesting that Jesus consistently had to remind his followers that he himself was the light.  Like them, we are easily distracted from the truth. Sometimes we are distracted by things that are clearly evil, but more often we are distracted by good things that we elevate to an inappropriate significance. Family, relationships, financial stability, reputation, and accomplishments can all be good things, but Jesus calls us to see him as the light that shines in the darkness and to pursue all of those things only in so far as they lead us to him. Pray that the Lord would help you not only to trust Jesus, but to trust Him above all else.