This morning I read my devotion from The One Year Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten. The devotion spoke about how being “second fiddle” is a time-honored profession in God’s work.
Johann Hausschein was Ulrich Zwingli’s “wing man” or “second fiddle” during the Reformation in German-speaking Switzerland in the 1500s. He was very intelligent and Erasmus considered him the “foremost intellect of his day”. Johann was a theologian, preacher, a reformer of church practices and a defender of biblical truths.
Johann’s surname in German means “the light of the house”. At some point in his life he changed his surname to the Greek equivalent, “Oecolampadius”.
“Light of the house”. What a beautiful word-picture of what the biblical believer in Jesus Christ is to be. He is to be like a light shining in a home, repelling the darkness so that those living there can see their way. A light removing the mystery of what is around us, in the darkness.
If you have ever been through a hurricane, ice storm or tornado and lost your electric power, you were thankful for any source of light you had as the darkness enveloped your home. There was great rejoicing when the lights came back on.
I spent a considerable amount of my life working at a wood preserving manufacturing plant where we made wooden utility poles like you see along the highway. After an ice storm or hurricane destroyed the utility grid in an area, we would send hundreds or thousands of wooden utility poles, so the local utility could restore power. Our truck drivers said people would line the streets and applaud when they rolled into town with the utility poles.
Humans were not made to dwell in darkness.
Sadly, far too many today do dwell in spiritual “darkness”, a state of ignorance. Ignorant of the life changing love of God which He manifested by sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins. Ignorant of the resurrection of Christ, the born again experience, and the many other biblical truths that deliver man from evil and the evil one. As we will see later, we, as lost people separated from God by our sins, are described as being “darkness”.
The prophet Isaiah (9:2-4) prophesied by the Holy Spirit and said, concerning Jesus’ birth:
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Jesus is the Light. What a beautiful metaphor and truth. Isaiah goes on to say there will be great joy and rejoicing because of this Light:
“… You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”
Why this rejoicing and gladness?
“For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor…”
Because Jesus will set people free from the oppressor of mankind, the evil one, satan.
We recently learned of the death of a young missionary who was trying to reach a government protected, unreached island tribe off the coast of India. The tribe killed him when he reached the shore. The world says “leave these people alone and let them live as they have for thousands of years.” But the reality is that the darkness they live in is full of fear and terror created by evil spirits that control and torment them. They are one of the “oppressors” that Jesus, The Light, came to expose and defeat in peoples lives. On my desk I have a DVD entitled “I Will Never Go Back! The Testimony of Chief Shoefoot, A Former Shaman.” This Amazon witchdoctor tells how he was possessed and controlled by demons and how Jesus Christ set him free from these evil spirits. He said he would never go back to living like his people had lived for thousands of years. Why? Through someone sharing Jesus Christ with him, he now knows the truth about God, man, sin, satan and freedom in Christ. He is walking in the Light.
May we be “the light of the house” wherever God puts us. May we reflect the light or knowledge of Jesus, in humility and wisdom, onto the people and circumstances around us.
People don’t like darkness and some people are just like outdoor moths. They will come to the Light!
Father God, Giver of all wisdom, thank you for sending the Light into the darkness and rescuing us when we were helpless. Help us to reflect Jesus, the true Light, into the darkness around us. In Jesus Name. Amen.
“For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth)…” Ephesians 5:8-9
Carl
Psalm 119: 38 