Come Into The Party
In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” When he said this, the month-long Feats of Tabernacles had just ended. This was a pilgrimage feast, so there would have been many, many Jews who came to remember and celebrate. On the first night of the feast, four golden lamps would be lit and the people would shout for joy, sing, dance, and play loud music in the light of these lamps. The light brought the party! And just at the party died down, and the people got ready to go back to “normal life,” Jesus said that he himself is the light of the whole world. He brings the party, the celebration, to everyone in the world!
When you think of Jesus, do you think of partying, celebrating, rejoicing? Growing up, when I thought of Jesus I felt…guilty. Almost always when I thought of Jesus I would think of how I’d failed to obey him; failed to follow him well. I went through a stretch where I’d feel scared. Scared that he didn’t accept me, that I wasn’t sorry enough for my sin, and that I wouldn’t be with him when I died. I never really felt like Jesus brought the party to my life until much later when I started to see the good news about Jesus in the Bible. I still sometimes struggle to think about partying and celebrating when I think of Jesus. Even more so, I don’t always communicate who Jesus is and what He came to do very well. Sadly, people may walk away from me thinking Jesus is more like a bouncer than the host of the party.
Before anyone gets all jittery, I fully believe that we need to communicate the darkness and consequences of individual sin. Our sin, our rejection of God and His way, has put us in a situation where we are outside of the light, outside of God’s celebration. There is no way that we can get into this party on our own. God doesn’t keep us out of the party because of our sin; we keep ourselves out. We need someone who makes a way for us to come into this celebration. That’s exactly what Jesus did through his life, death, and victory over death.
Jesus didn’t come to kick people out of the party; he came to invite people in. He’s the light of the world who brings joy and celebration. Have you come into the party? We’re going to party on Easter Sunday and celebrate what God has done. If you’d like to celebrate with us, or want to hear more, you’re invited to Ewa School this Sunday (or any Sunday) at 10am. We’ll eat lunch together right after the service.