Devotional: Light for the Road John 8:12

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).

I was only a little boy when I learned the reason that a car has headlights. I discovered this when one night I noticed that I could not see the road that we were traveling when the headlights were turned off. The road is there. The road does not change. We need the headlights because we cannot see the road. The road is not a straight line to our destination. There are curves in the road. There are hills to climb, and there are hills to descend. There may be obstacles in the road; maybe a large boulder; maybe a stalled car; maybe an animal standing in the road. I need the headlights on the car so that I can make correct turns, engage correctly or avoid dangerous obstacles in the road.

Jesus declares Himself to be the headlights that enable us to see the path that God wants us to travel in our lives. Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life” (Jn. 8:12, NASB). In the gospel of John the writer is a witness to the truth that Jesus is the light that makes the road that we are traveling visible. The writer, John, in this text is not writing about a physical road to a place that we want to go. Rather, Jesus is telling His audience that He is the Light that extinguishes the darkness of the world that prevents us from seeing God. The world with all of its knowledge is not the light that leads us to the Father. The world’s light shines down a different path leaving the path that leads to the Father in darkness. The road to life and the road to death are both real. Each has its own light.

I cannot come to know God through the knowledge and wisdom that the world offers. I cannot see the road that leads to the Father except through Jesus. The light that Jesus gives does not eliminate problems and difficulties. Rather, His light illuminates the path that leads us to God. We can avoid and navigate through our circumstances when we follow the light that Jesus gives. Jesus alone is the light that leads to the Father.

Prayer: Jesus, we are thankful that we have come to know that You are the Light that illuminates our path as we journey to the Father. Amen.