“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than the light; for their works were evil” (John 3:19).
Orthodox Christianity takes the view that this scripture applies to those in the world, but not the Church and this view is a typical interpretation of all the warning verses in the New Testament. However, this is addressed to those called by God, and it is saying that those who love darkness, i.e. the world, more than the kingdom and its righteousness will face the judgement.
The world cannot see the light unless the Church holds it up; “You are the light of the world” Jesus said (Matthew 5:14). Today, the world looks at the Church and sees no light whatsoever; what they see is a mirror of the world, rather than a light to the world. Only the true light of Christ Jesus shining out into the world from the lives of true believers can make any impact upon depraved mankind.
“You are the salt of the earth” Jesus also said (Matthew 5:13); salt is meant to purify and preserve and to make palatable; it is meant to work on the principle of cellular infiltration by being spread in grains over the whole of a dish. Sadly, what is meant to be salt is gathered together in lumps called Churches and the life of its people outside that environment is little different to the life of those belonging to the world. As Jesus warned; in that condition “it is worthless, except for being thrown out to be trampled under the feet of men” (Matthew 5:13).
Who can argue that the Church has not reached that condition today?
The whole purpose of life is to learn how to hear God’s voice and then to obey; it is not faith that is important, but faithfulness; we are all engaged on an endless quest to know the ways of God. There is no formula for this; it is a personal search for each person who must discover for himself the ways of God as they apply to him. We learn by first learning to wait;
Psalm 37:34 “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way”.
Psalm 37:9 “..those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth”.
Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD”.
Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”.
Psalm 62:5 “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him”.
Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope”.
Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.
Luke 12:36 “And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he comes and knocks, they may open unto him immediately”.
Galatians 5:5 “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith”.
To wait is not to sit with folded hands; waiting is active not passive; waiting is learning to hear His voice and to do what He says.
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