Study 18 - July 9th - 15th 2007

Being Put To The Test?

“Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and never walk in darkness.” The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you says proves nothing”. John Chapter 8: verse 13 (CEV).

Golf is one of those rare sports where mostly you are the only umpire. Of course in competitions we have our marker, but the marker does not see everything that happens on the golf course. There have been many occasions in my golfing career where cheating has been alleged of another player or team. Some golfers and teams have produced results and won prizes that others have thought impossible. The interesting thing about golf is the more competitive you go in golf, there is less chance of getting away with cheating because of others watching you.
The truth of our score is determined by our integrity to speak the truth and call penalties on ourselves when no other player has seen our breach.

This kind of integrity with sport is different to integrity in life when it comes to disputes between people. In the times of the Old Testament and in Jesus’ time, two witnesses were often required to convict another of a crime or injustice, or to establish a point of view. This of course was not foolproof but it did stop a lot of unnecessary false allegations and claims. Put another way, the law prevented people from bearing witness to themselves. They needed the support of another witness. For the religious leaders, Jesus’ claims about himself as the "Light of the World” was invalid because he was testifying to himself.
Jesus response to this was to say that God was his other witness. You will notice as we go through John’s life of Jesus that Jesus constantly referred to God as his father, being one with him, doing his will and being one with God.

How can you question a person who says that God is their witness? All through history there have been claims by people who say that they are God’s messenger or son.
One answer to this question is to look at the kind of life that the person lives. Another is to look at what the person says. Another is to look at their actions and their capacity to demonstrate that God is with them. We can use our common sense to assess what others claim. We have the 4 books of Jesus’ life in the bible because the followers of Jesus were convinced that Jesus was who he said he was; the Son of God.

In the final analysis Jesus tells us that all who believe in him will be given new life from being born again or born of the Spirit. (See Chapter 3 of John). Once you receive the Holy Spirit the search for God and the truth of Jesus is settled because God through his Spirit has made himself known.

People who are searching for the truth about God will find in Jesus Christ the real deal. But there needs to be an openness on our part to listen to what Jesus has to say.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for the wonder and beauty of life and the search for meaning and purpose to our life. We believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so help me to let go of the darkness of my life and embrace Jesus. Amen.