You Are the Light of the World

Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12) In addition, he also said, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) Christ is not only the light of the world, but he calls us to be lights in the same way that he was. When we have Christ living within us, we shine forth as a light to the world.

There are many great “I Am” statements made by Jesus. I am the Bread of Life. I Am the Gate. I Am the Living Water. I Am the Light of the World. These reveal the true nature of who he was. The Gospel of John begins by declaring him as the Word/Logos. He came directly from Source, The Only Begotten of God. When Moses encountered God at the burning bush he asked in whose name he should say he was sent. God replied, “I Am that I Am.” The I Am statements of Jesus link him with the eternal God.

In reality it was these claims that led to his crucifixion. The religious leaders at the time of Jesus could not see in him the great I Am and to their deaf ears and blind eyes he made statements of blasphemy which they considered worthy of death. By declaring himself to be the light of the world, he was making a statement about his relationship to God. I Am the light of the world. He was the incarnation of the divine, the I Am, and he became a channel for the light of the Godhead in human form. Truly, he was the light of the world.

In our own journey here on earth we are to be channels of the same divine light. Jesus told us that we are lights to the world. When was the last time you said, “I am a light to the world”? We align ourselves with the Christ power when we make this statement. We more frequently, however, say, “I am an idiot.” Or, “I am a mess.” Or, “I am a failure.” We wonder how come we have a hard time being very reliable lights. Just looking at which side we align ourselves on by looking at our own speech might give us a small clue.

All speech is creative. What we talk about comes about. This is the Law of Speech. If we want our spiritual lives to be in alignment with our ideals, we might consider changing our speech to match what we want our lives to look like. We can consider adding affirmations of Christian truth to our daily spiritual practice and journey. Some statements to consider:

I am the light of the world. The light of Christ shines through me in service to others.

I am a new creature in Christ. The old is passed away and the new is taking shape.

I am never powerless, for the Holy Spirit lives in me.

I am never alone, for Christ dwells within my heart.

I am deeply loved by God, for Christ died so that I might live eternally with God.

I am a precious child of God.

I am loving and will experience love because the love of God lives within my heart.

I am full of faith, hope, and love because the Spirit of All has freely given me every perfect gift that I ask for.

Whenever we are tempted to put ourselves down or become enveloped with discouragement and despair, we must remember the words of Paul that reminds us that when we have given ourselves to Christ, we are a new creation. He says:

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all part of the same body.” (Ephesians 4: 20-25)

Every time we indulge in negative remarks about ourselves, we are telling lies and denouncing the power of what Christ has accomplished for us. We do this quite effectively towards others, also. In effect, we negate the beautiful promises and light and power that are made available to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

To be an effective lightworker we must learn to accept and speak the truth about what Christ has done for us. As we learn to accept the amazing gift and the power of love that we have been given, we will be transformed and able to share this amazing good news, the gospel, with others. Learn to speak the truth to yourself about what Christ has done for you and you will be able to then share it with others.