I am the light

By Klaus Döring

You are echoing a powerful and historic declaration. Whether you are invoking the iconic biblical statement made by Jesus as cited in Bible Gateway, expressing a sense of personal awakening, referencing GotQuestions, or exploring a spiritual philosophy of enlightenment, embracing that energy is all about bringing warmth, clarity, and guidance to your surroundings.

We can’t see our future, direction, or destination, but Jesus can. Like a lighthouse guiding a ship, Jesus directs us toward God’s light. The light of Christ guides us through the darkness of sin, life, and struggle, both spiritually and literally.

The validity of Jesus’ testimony has been explained in John 8:12-30: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

To be the light means that, in times of darkness, you offer hope, encouragement, kindness, and compassion. In times when others are struggling, you offer a way to help them regain their glow and shine. To see the good and the beautiful — it is in this that truth is re-established.

Light is the symbol of joy and life-giving power, as darkness is of death and destruction. Therefore, in religion, light is often associated with immortality and a higher power.

As I look around, I find many of our so-called leaders who demand that we follow them, and I hope we open our eyes and minds before we blindly follow them.

“I am the light of the world!” Admittedly, this sounds, for many people, like reconditioned exuberance while they tremble at what might happen if they are not able to pay the next electric bill.

I am also pretty sure that, this year, Christmas lights are not glowing as they did in previous years. I am not talking so much about the illuminated advertisements all over the city. I am referring to the private lighting that usually brightens our homes during the Yuletide season. It’s the deep sadness and depression felt by the people around us. Maybe this Christmas celebration is not a celebration anymore in times of a new abnormality.

If we manage to overcome the “follow-me-I’m-the-light” phonies, and after we manage to find solutions for paying our electric bills, we then sit still in our houses and plan to light a candle for our prayers.

The other side of the season should make us remember that we should never hesitate to show our good hearts, even amid a crisis, by rendering services to others with passion and enthusiasm. There is nothing really stronger than the heart of a volunteer — as several UP interns voiced many years ago.

I am the light of the world. Let’s try putting this concept into our minds, hearts, and souls. I am pretty sure we’ll not walk in darkness, especially during this enlightening season and the dramatic cuts in our daily life because of this pandemic.

Across cultures, light is an ancient symbol of understanding and intellectual thought: It is the opposite of ignorance, or darkness. Almost universally, the dark is considered frightening and sinister, associated with things we cannot understand. Light is said to conquer darkness and to bring order out of chaos.

“Made His light shine in our hearts.” (2 Co 4:6).

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, or follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicmusic.blogspot.com.

Brief explanation: I corrected grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spacing around the em dash, spelling, and awkward phrasing while retaining the original paragraph structure. No currency values appeared in the draft.