True Light

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
John 1:9

If there is true light, there must also be false light. What is that like?

False light is light that is used to deceive. It is found in optical illusions and the tricks magicians do with smoke and mirrors. However, perhaps the greatest false light comes from the flash and sparkle of Hollywood.

Hundreds of thousands of young people have been attracted by the allure of their name in lights on a theater marquee. Being in the spotlight and having name recognition seem so desirable and important that they sacrifice everything to attain it. The sad thing is that few even do get it, and even sadder is that most who acquire the fame are unsatisfied by it.

Recently I googled "actors that committed suicide" and found a list of 227 men and 145 women who ended their own lives in despair. The sheer numbers of "successful" entertainers that had nothing to live for speaks volumes to the fatal attraction of false light.

Contrast all this to Jesus Christ, the True Light who gives light to everyone in this world. That light reveals truth - the good, the bad, and the ugly. That's a problem, because people prefer delusion over inconvenient truths. Men and women love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). They don't want to hear about sin, righteousness, or judgment and would rather that the god of this age blind them to the "light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

If a candle and a 100 watt light bulb are both burning 10 feet from each other, the candle casts the shadow. Although the world seems to glitter and glow, people need to get out of the shadows and into the True Light.