I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

The Greek storyteller, Aesop, told of a father who took his son and set off to market.  The son rode a donkey, and the father led the animal.  When they passed through the first town, people commented, “What a lazy boy.  Imagine, riding while his father walks.”  The father heard the criticism and changed places.  At the next town, people called out, “Old man, how dare you ride and let your son walk!”  The father again responded to the criticism by getting off the donkey, and then both walked.  Coming to a third town, the father heard people whisper, “How crazy can you get?  Two people walking and letting the donkey carry nothing!”

Aesop immortalized our tendency to blow with the wind, shifting direction every time we face criticism. We’re still responding to suggestions for the next best way: a new relationship, different work/life balance or sexual identities, the right supplement, diet or fitness trend.

What is right?  What’s true?  He had answered this same question earlier, saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). When we walk, when we live, in the light that Jesus gives, we experience the peace of condemnation-free life built on truth that we were meant to live.  Find out more today by reading the Bible book of 1 John.

 

Resource reading: 1 John 1:1-10