An English professor introduced his university class to what he called one of the finest, most elegant lines in the English language.
He said the words in a whisper to his class. “Walk with light.” He paused for dramatic effect and repeated it in a voice husky with emotion. “Walk…with light.”
He looked at the rapt faces of his students and exclaimed quietly, “Isn't that a wonderful thing to say to someone?”
The class agreed. They wanted to know the author.
“It's anonymous,” the instructor said, as if to heighten the profundity. Then he smiled and added, “I saw it this morning on a sign at the intersection of Main and Broadway: ‘Walk with light.’”
The story that begins in the night ends with the light
When a religious leader named Nicodemus wanted to visit with Jesus, he “came to Jesus at night” (John 3:2). As in many stories in the Gospel of John, that likely has a double meaning. On the surface it’s just a reference to the time. Under the surface, it’s a reference to spiritual darkness. But the story that begins in the night ends with the light. John declared, “Light has come into the world” (John 3:19).
Jesus told Nicodemus that the transition from night to light could only happen if he was “born again” through the labor of a God who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:3 and 16).
These may be the two most famous phrases in the Gospel of John. We’ll see what they mean at Hillcrest this Sunday, February 14. How fitting to celebrate God’s love for us on the day couples celebrate their love for each other! John 3:1-22 is a Valentine’s Day card from God to you. Let’s study it together on campus or online this Sunday at 10am.
(One more thing. My book, Winning Ways: Inspiration for Uncommon Living is free for Kindle starting today until Monday, February 15.)
--Tom
Sign up here to receive Tom Goodman’s weekly devotional in your email inbox. Tom serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast. He blogs at The Anchor Course website and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.