Light & Darkness
...and wealth. Don't forget about wealth, of course.
The image of light & darkness plays a significant reoccurring role throughout scripture. It would be hard to overstate. In fact, you might not even recognize it as an image or illustration because it plays such a central role in understanding good and evil. But image it is. (This is a comfort to those of us who like the darkness of the night or ocean, etc.)
But in today’s short passage, Jesus adds to the image the eye and the lamp. It is rather powerful, actually. Think about how your eye works. And how a lamp works. What your eye lets in is only possible thanks to light. And what your eye focuses on tells the whole body what is going on. The implications are many.
But then…Jesus throws in this bit about wealth! Where did that come from? It almost seems like a separate point he’s making. What do you think?
Regardless of the connection or not between the light/darkness/eye/lamp illustration, Jesus is clear yet again how wealth cannot rule the life of his follower(s).
Matthew 6:22-24
“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Prayer
God,
The creation story says that you tell light when and where to exist. So I pray, Lord, let light exist in my life. But not too much. It can be blinding.
Help me to discern what to take in and what to shut out. I’m not asking that you keep me from all ill, Lord. For I do not want to be ignorant. I want to be aware not simply for the desire to be informed, but to be in places where, with you, we can bring light to darkness.
So help me, God: give me discernment in how much darkness my life can take. There’s a lot available to us these days. But remind me that while I desire to be like Christ, I am not Jesus, the savior of the whole world. Bring me to the corners of the creation where I can be his representative, prophet, or healer.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.
My photography background comes to mind when light and dark are spoken about. It is interesting to light a subject or item to illuminate it so that it is the focus and leave more minor aspects of the scene in darkness. In life the focus is hopefully on the light, not the dark.