The Light

It's been quite difficult to sleep during the first two nights of my recovery from surgery. Last night was no different. I woke up at 2:30 this morning to a very dark house. In fact the house was completely dark. The normal night lights that help navigate my walk down our long hallway were silently stuck in their sockets. The digital green neon lights that tell me the time on the microwave and oven were darkened. My dog Lily needed to go out and as I approached the front door I noticed that the porch lights were out as well. Finally, my mind caught up to the reality around me... there was a power outage!

I reached for the front door handle to let Lily out and the very nanosecond that my hand touched the door knob all the lights came on all at once. The fax machine burped out a high pitched beep and then went through its ritualistic set up process. The microwave and oven shouted out a series of beeps and blips as they were declaring that power was now running through their veins. The front porch lights lit up my otherwise darkened view of the world. Needless to say, this phenomenon scared and startled the daylights out of me. (Or maybe I should say, "Scared the daylights into me!")

My iWitness...

Upon further reflection, it really came as no surprise to me that I was able to navigate my way through the house with great ease. I know the house. I know every nook and cranny and even with the lights turned out I had no problem making it to the front door without panic or anxiety.

In Christian circles people often wonder how "you came to know Jesus."
The scriptures paint a beautiful picture of Jesus standing at the door of our heart and knocking, inviting us to open the door and when the time comes for us to open the door He will come in and sup with us and live with us. It's a beautiful image.

For some people their "conversion" experience borders on my experience that took place at 2:30 am. As soon as they touched the door handle to let Jesus in, all the lights come on and their darkened world was now full of the bright light of Jesus. Their life of "before the light of Jesus and after the light of Jesus" is stark and the contrast is unmistakable.

I have run into a more than a number of people who declare with absolute certainty and conviction that if "how you came to know Jesus" does not follow this exact model then you really aren't a real Christian. People who hold such a narrow view of how God can reveal himself to us should be slapped several times upside the head!

For some people, their "conversion" experience took on a more gradual process. There are some of us who grew up with Jesus already in the house with the house already lit up. In these cases sometimes it is kind of like Jesus knocking on our bedroom door rather than the front door of the house. Sure... the whole house is alight with the love and presence of Jesus but I need to claim His presence in my own personal space, which as a kid was your bedroom.

The latter approach was how I came to know Jesus. I can't give you a certain date and time that Jesus became real to me. He was always around. For others, they know exactly when they came to know Jesus and their life has literally never been the same.

It would be interesting to take a poll and find out which camp you fall into. I must say that I am sure that there are a hundred and three other ways to come to know Jesus as well. These two camps I have mentioned just seem to be the most prevalent.

Either way, what is important is that we have the Light of Jesus and that makes all the difference in the world. It's certainly made all the difference in my world.

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8. 12)