God Is Light, God Is Life and God Is Love

“This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 [RSV]).

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5 [RSV]).

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5 [RSV]).

What the Apostle John is teaching here is that God is essential. When man sinned he was swept into darkness, no longer having that illuminated fellowship with his Creator. Just as all life depends on the light of the sun to exist, all who wish to return to that light of God lost in the Garden of Eden must do so by going through the light of the Son, Jesus Christ, for all light flows from this fountain of light. David prophesied 1,000 years before the time of Christ, “For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:9 [RSV])

When Jesus came He said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 [RSV]). “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35-36 [RSV])

We become “sons of the light” by coming to the Lord in obedient, saving faith, for only then are we clothed in His holy and pure garments (Galatians 3:27). It is only through Jesus that anyone is saved. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6 [RSV]). But we must remain faithful to the Lord and reject the darkness to continue in His fellowship. 6. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; 7. but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7 [RSV])

In Jesus is both light and life. John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (1 John 1:4). That light and life of men is also pure, unadulterated love. John continues, writing, “He who does not love does not know God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8 [RSV]). We must continue to remain steadfast and unmovable in this love. “So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16 [RSV]). God proved His enduring love to mankind by sending us His Son: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 [RSV]).

Hair Is the Covering

I was asked recently,

“How do we distinguish in Scripture what is literal and what is cultural? For example, we say head coverings is a cultural thing yet we say women not being able to preach is a literal thing even though when that was written women did not have the same rights or status as they do now. What are your thoughts?”

I believe the Apostle Paul supplies the answer to this question himself when he says in 2 Timothy 2:11-14,

11. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Verse 13, in particular, is your answer. Man (Adam) was first formed, and he was not deceived. That has nothing to do with one's culture. It is just the way it is. Additionally, Genesis 3:16 still applies everywhere, regardless of culture. "Unto the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'" Do women still have excruciating pain during childbirth? Yes, they do, and since they still do, then men are to rule over them, and the women are not to usurp authority over them.

As for the head covering, I do not believe that is cultural, either, because I believe the head covering in question is the woman's hair. Culturally, it was men who wore a head covering in the Jewish synagogues, called a sudarium, which is a white linen cloth. Today, they wear what is called a Yarmulke, or "Kippa" in Hebrew. So to believe Paul was telling the men in Corinth it was a shame for them to be covered with a Kippa is without merit.

It is just as equally fallacious to believe that Paul was telling the women it was a shame for them to pray uncovered without a hat or veil. Once again, this is not a cultural issue, either. It has to do with how God has always wanted men to be men, and women to be women. Look at what Paul says in this chapter:

7. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the Angels. (1 Corinthians 11:7-10)

13. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? 14. Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15. But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. (1 Corinthians 11:13-15) So there you have it. Paul says the woman’s hair is her covering, not a hat or a veil. Her hair is her glory.

Some people claim Paul was going back and forth here, talking about hair in one verse, and then talking about hats in others. That, too, is an inaccurate conclusion to draw because Paul was not schizophrenic and confused, going back and forth between hats and hair as if he had no idea what he was teaching. Hair is the covering. What Paul is doing is condemning the practice of androgyny in which men try to dress and look and act like women, and women try to dress and look and act like men. Paul says this goes against nature itself (verse 14). Women should have feminine hair styles, and men should have masculine hair styles. Man is the glory of God, and woman is the glory of man (verse 7). Again, this has nothing to with culture at all, but with the very fact of how God created us, and that has never changed.

May the Lord bless you and your family!

Don't Blame God

The following is the first public devotional my 12 year old son, Damien, gave last night at our mid-week Bible study.

It is easy being a Christian when everything is going well, but for some people as soon as the going gets rough they leave. They want to just give up. Jesus talked about this type of person when He said in Matthew 13:20-21, 20. What was planted on rocky soil is the person who hears the message and accepts it with gladness right away. 21. However, he does not have deep roots in himself; he doesn't last long. When, because of the message, trouble or persecution comes, he soon gets discouraged and gives up.

One of the hardest things to do as a Christian, then, is to remain loyal and true to the Lord even when things aren’t going so well. As you probably know, this past Sunday evening I was bit in the face by one of our dogs. It’s possible I might be disfigured from this, but at the least, I will have scars. I didn’t want this to happen to me, I don’t know why this happened to me, but it did. Maybe this is part of the cross Jesus said I should take up and bear (Matthew 16:24).

My Mom and Dad have always taught my brothers and me that regardless of what happens in life, we should never blame God or quit serving Him. I’m so glad they have done this, because it’s also true that Jesus never said that being a Christian meant nothing bad would ever happen to us again. No, He didn’t say that, but He did say that He has promised that He will always love us and be with us forever. And I believe and trust that, and I take comfort in those words, even when bad things happen to me!

So whenever something goes wrong in your life please remember what the Lord tells us in Hebrews 13:5:

“God Himself has said this: ‘I will never leave you. I will never abandon you.’”

And if we truly believe and trust in Him then one day we will get to hear those great words,

“Fine! You are a good and faithful servant. I see that I can trust you with small things. Therefore, I will put you in charge of important things. Come and share your master's happiness.” (Matthew 25:23)

Discernment

In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus made an interesting statement in Matthew 7:6 [RSV] when He stated, "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Jesus did not just make this statement out of thin air. He made it in context of exercising and using proper judgment.

So how is one to determine if one is casting pearls before dogs and pigs? Well, when you hear the snort of scoffing that is against your message, you are dealing with a pig! And if you hear the snarling after giving your message, you are dealing with a dog!

When you see a lack of interest in your time and spiritual truths you have to offer, you know you are dealing with swine and dogs. Jesus advised us in Matthew 7:16 [RSV], “You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?”

If we turn to God in prayer and ask Him to grant us wisdom and discernment in these matters, we need to trust that He will do so. We are urged to ask God for wisdom in these and other matters. James, the Lord’s brother, writes in James 1:5-8 [NRS],

5. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, Who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7. for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, 8. must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

We must realize that sometimes the right thing to do is to say, “No.” A good steward learns when those times are.

May the Lord bless us all and give us the wisdom and courage to give not what is holy to the dogs and to cast not our pearls before swine!