“In him was life, and the life was the light of all people…the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”
John 1:4,9 (NRSV)
For the last four months, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about John’s famous prologue (1:1-18). Throughout the Christmas season, this passage loomed large and now, as we enter Holy Week, I continue to be enamored and intrigued with the verses above. What does it mean that Jesus as “the life was the light”? And in what way(s) does he enlighten everyone? Below I’ll share some learnings on these questions from the Quakers, George MacDonald, and Saint Augustine.
Early in my spiritual journey, I discovered that the concept of inner light was highly important to the first Quakers, who taught: “God reveals Himself within each individual’s conscience and consciousness by the Holy Spirit, Christ Himself being the Light to illuminate man’s sinfulness and lead in the way of truth and righteousness. … this light is in all men by the grace of God to lead them to Christ, and that the same light will give daily guidance to the Christians.”[1]
Although I’ve never been to a Quaker meeting, I love how their tradition draws attention to these verses in ways that quietly champion grace, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and daily personal experience that’s centered on practicing the presence of Christ.
Recently, as I’ve continued to ponder especially the verses above, I came across the great novelist George MacDonald’s (1824-1905), C.S. Lewis’ biggest spiritual mentor, take on our verses above:
“The life… became light to men in the appearing of him in whom it came into being. The life became light that men might see it. Seeing it, they themselves might live by choosing that life also, by choosing so to live and to be… The light is what we see and shall see in him. The life is what we may be in him.”[2]
In other words, MacDonald draws our attention first to the incarnation, the event in which Jesus as the life and creator (Col. 1:16) now makes God’s heart visible as the light, inviting us into it. But then MacDonald highlight’s Christ pre-incarnate and ongoing work as the one who “enlightens everyone.” As an example, here’s an amazing quote that was so good I had to add it as the signature quote in the front matter of Irreplaceable:
“The Father has sent us all into this outer world that we may go back into the inner world of his own heart.”
George MacDonald
Just meditate on that dazzling thought for a moment… If the Quakers’ or MacDonald’s insights are a little too nebulous, however, no worries! Maybe this comment from the ESV Study Bible will prove most helpful: “The references to light, life, and darkness continue to draw on Genesis motifs. Against this backdrop, Jesus as the light brings to this darkness true knowledge, moral purity, and the very presence of God.”
What I like about this guidance is that it reminds us just how much the New Testament writers relied on the Old Testament, especially seminal books like Genesis. And I’ve found Saint Augustine invaluable in bringing together the motifs from both Testaments:
“The earth invisible and formless… which would have remained dark according to the aimless drift of its spiritual formlessness if it had not been turned to Him from whom comes whatever is life, and by His illumination it became living and beautiful… For in us there is a distinction between the time when we were darkness and the time when we became light… over the dark and storm-tossed waters within us He moves in mercy.”
Augustine’s Confessions
In other words, dear friends, just like Jesus created, illuminated, and transformed this “formless and void” earth, he still takes our empty, aimless, and spiritually formless lives, breathes life into them, and makes them into something living and beautiful that gives light to the world!
[1] Manual of Faith and Practice of Central Yearly Meeting of Friends. Central Yearly Meeting of Friends. 2018. p. 6.
[2] George MacDonald, Your Life in Christ (Bloomington, MN: Bethany, 2005) 44-45.