“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”** Acts 26:15-18 (NIV)**
God desires for all to turn to Him and to “prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20 (NIV). This is both for our good and for His glory – one never surpassing the other. For all of us who have walked in darkness, He is a great light. As we follow Him, He opens our eyes to the wonderful Truths in His Word and He is faithful and able to empower us through His Spirit – showing us the way - so that we may walk in it.
Paul’s commission (as should be ours as well) in our passage for today is not too dissimilar to our Lord Jesus’s. We find in Isaiah 42:5-7 (NIV): “This is what God the LORD says -- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: ‘I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.’” Believers are to be servants and witnesses of what God has done in and through us. We are not our own and we have been bought by the highest price of Christ’s blood. Further, we are to be faithful in sharing this very good news to others – primarily through our deeds and words.
Isaiah also writes in Isaiah 9:2 (NIV): “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Believers who once walked in darkness have now seen the Light of life in Christ Jesus. He lifts the believers burdens and He restores our joy and peace. Indeed, the fruit of the Spirit – which every believer in Christ is the recipient of - is discovered in Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV): “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit manifests these graces in the believer. This is why we are told not to shrink the Spirit by going our own way and doing our own will. We are left to be a light for those who are still walking in darkness. Darkness is always synonymous with evil and death in Scripture whereas light is synonymous with goodness and life. Further, in God’s kingdom, righteousness will pervade like the sun. There are restorative powers in righteousness which are akin to the healthful rays of the sun.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”** Ephesians 5:8-10 (NIV)**