By Pastor Raul GranilloA man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light. The true light that shines on all people was coming into the world. (CEB, John 1:6-9).
These words speak a very powerful truth that is somewhat taboo in our culture today. This truth affects us all as it speaks of reality and addresses the figments of our imaginations.
Light is important to us, because it reveals the world around us. We use light to protect ourselves from harm. We turn on our headlights at night so that we can see the road and avoid collisions. We turn on the light in a room so that we don’t stub our toe on that dresser that’s out to get us. We focus light where great detail is needed. Light is important to us. It is important because it has the power to reveal what is really there.
In the absence of light, we allow our imaginations to fill in the blanks for us. We may feel things and believe them to be something that they are not. (Think of that the next time you reach under the coach.) We may see shadows of real objects and think that they are something, or someone, else. (The lamp on our corner table does this to me regularly.) When light is finally shed in the darkness, we typically find that things are not exactly as we perceived them to be.
Often, our imaginations err on the side of fear or the ominous. That’s why the dark is typically a scary place for us, especially when we are younger. As we age, our experience teaches us how to fill in the blanks with things that are more likely to be real in our world. For some of us, this leads to a more optimistic interpretation; for others, less so. In either case, it is only in the presence of light that we can truly distinguish what really exists from what we imagine exists. This is the power of light—to distinguish reality from fantasy.
Here lies another truth that we may not consider enough: reality does not care. Reality exists as it exists. It does not care what you perceive. It does not care what the world thinks or votes upon. It does not care how you choose to interpret or react to it. It simply exists and reacts based upon set laws that were not created by any human consensus. No person was ever consulted when the laws of creation were set in place. Reality has no concern for what we think is fair or ethical based upon our own ideologies.
Fantasy is something that is not real. I am not 6 feet tall. I can say I am. I can have a group of people say that I am. I can even have those in charge of standards of measurement change how a foot is defined so that I can say that I am taller than I am, but reality does not care. I am the height that I am, regardless of what anyone says, how I feel, or what new laws are passed.
When we use fantasy in the real world, it always reacts violently. If I fantasize about a relationship and impress my fantasies into reality, then reality reacts violently. It may be through a broken heart, or it may be through an unspeakable act, but it reacts violently. This is why the true light is so important. It’s not about imposing a religion upon others, or about imposing some god’s uninvited rule. It is about having, and bringing, life in the real world through a revelation of how it works and how we work within it.
John’s message is important because it reminds us that Jesus is the true light; anything else is artificial. To be fair, mankind has created many artificial lights that seem to reveal truth. Of course, our history of violence, death, and darkness reveal how dangerous it is to inject fantasy into reality. Even the false use of God’s name to justify hatred, apathy, greed, or dehumanization is a delusional act that has brought tragic amounts of death in the name of the God who brings life. This is what happens when we inject fantasy into reality; it reacts violently.
Allowing the light of Christ to shine in our lives reveals many truths that we could not have possibly imagined. Some of them are overwhelming, some of them are scary, but all of them are real. It is not a matter of religion or speculation that you were created in the image of God to be good and to do good—that is simply the reality of the matter. For anyone to truly live a life that brings good into this world, we must give up our delusions of grandeur and romantic fantasies in exchange for the true light that brings real hope, real joy, real peace, and real life into the world. In order to live a real life, we must have it filled with the light of Jesus. Reality may not care, but your Creator does.
If you have a Biblical question, comment, or concern, please feel free to email me at raul@lavistanaz.org. To find out more about La Vista Church, or to hear this and other messages, visit our website at www.lavistanaz.org. Follow Pastor Raul on Twitter @RaulGranillo007. Please come join us as we fix our eyes on Jesus. Our NEW HOURS are Sundays at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10:30 a.m. for worship. Everyone is welcome!