What Makes It Day or Night?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. (John 11:9-10)

What determines whether it is daytime or nighttime, the presence of external light or the presence of internal light?

It appears from this and other references throughout the book of John that both day and night, light and darkness are not necessarily sequential but likely can be simultaneous. While some people are living in darkness and stumbling others are choosing to walk in light and are not stumbling.

Following are all the references in John using the words 'light' and 'world'.

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.

While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. (John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:46)

In the immediate context of this story Jesus' disciples seem to be in the dark. Their perspective on the circumstances were viewed through their own perceptions of reality as they had not yet learned to rely on how radically different Jesus' perspective would be. They had not yet learned to distrust their own analysis of situations and trust that Jesus would have light on everything that would make things appear very different than how they would see things.

Because of their dependence on 'normal' perceptions of what was going on, the first thing they thought about when Jesus said they should return to Judea were the threats against His life they had just experienced only recently. They were walking in the dark, so what they perceived were only threats and gloom and bad things about to happen to them. They could not discern the glory of heaven, the protection of heaven and the plans of heaven both for Jesus and for their own lives. All they could imagine was what bad things might happen to them based on the hostility and threats of the religious and political leaders who increasingly hated Jesus and everyone who sympathized with Him.

Jesus on the other hand, was not only living in constant connection with heaven and looking at things from heaven's perspective, but Jesus Himself had come to be the light of the world, reintroducing to humanity a completely different concept of reality than what they were used to. Rather than a spirit of fear and viewing circumstances through that perspective, Jesus was being led by the Spirit from His Father and He had implicit trust in the goodness and trustworthiness of His Father. Because He was in constant reliance on the original Source of light, love and life for all creation, Jesus saw things very differently than did the disciples. He used this occasion to point out to them their need to rely on His perspective rather than believe that their interpretation of their circumstances was the most valid.

This is a vital lesson for all of us to learn. It is so easy for me to forget to check with God and ask for His perspective before plunging into fearful expectations and scenarios whenever some unexpected threat appears in my life. Like so many others, I have grown up with the habit of assuming negative things about life, of allowing threats and forces of evil to intimidate me into believing the worst is likely to happen to me. Yet Jesus keeps reminding me that His perspective is radically different than what I normally assume about situations and that if I am to avoid stumbling (taking offense) I must view things from the light of His perspective rather than view life the way I typically perceive it.

Night and day are not sequential in this instance but are parallel options that I can choose. My choices will determine what I experience and how I will view life. Jesus is the light of this world and has promised to always be with me and to never forsake me or leave me alone. But even though He is with me, I must choose again and again to turn to Him and seek His perspective if I am to perceive reality and circumstances with the light that will make them suddenly appear very different than the dark forebodings that my own mind will naturally produce.

A few verses after this Thomas fatalistically declares that they all might as well go back to Judea with Jesus to their inevitable death. That sounds all too much like what I often say when faced with threatening circumstances. They were living in the dark because they had not yet learned that Jesus was a source of light that could empower them to view all of life totally differently than they were used to seeing it. Because they only noticed the evil and tuned in to the intimidations of the world's powerful who were seeking to suppress the light of Jesus, their scenarios of the future were shaped by the evil threatened against them rather than through the glorious view of heaven's perspective and plans.

What made the difference between Jesus' outlook and plans and those of the disciples? Because Jesus was filled with the Spirit and perceived that Lazarus' death was a signal for the greatest miracle God had planned for Him during His ministry on earth, He was then filled with anticipation and excitement about returning to Judea. In contrast, all the disciples could think about were threats of stoning, the hostility of the Jews in Judea and the tension that would fill the hearts of all the friends and family of Lazarus because Jesus had failed to meet their expectations and had not come in time to heal him.

It seemed very hazardous in the minds of the disciples for Jesus to venture back to where He was not welcome and also to face the grief and intense frustration produced by His failure to heal Lazarus before he died. Yet in heaven's perfect plan this very frustration and the shame induced by the scoffing and derision of the unbelieving leaders in this situation actually created the greatest opportunity to display the real truth about the divinity of Jesus and produce irrefutable proof that He was indeed the promised Messiah. The difference between these two perspectives was whether circumstances were viewed from normal human perspective or through the light that Jesus came to bring to this world.

These verses assembled from the book of John that refer to the light and the world bring incredible insight to the much deeper meanings of what Jesus is trying to convey here. They also carry great importance for me personally to teach me how to walk in light rather than continue stumbling about in the dark as I have for so long. I pray that God will continue to impress these truths on my heart, bring them to my mind repeatedly and keep reminding me to access the Light of reality that has promised to always be close to me and available if I will just choose to utilize it when things look dark.

I have also been learning that it is important to keep accessing Light even when things are not necessarily dark and foreboding. It is equally dangerous to think that I have no need to seek Jesus' perspective when things are seemingly going well for me but to only turn to Him when I feel threatened. In fact, depending on my own perspective about reality when things seem to be wonderful in my life could be even more dangerous because it can cause me to think I can trust my perspective part of the time. The only safe way to live both in good times and bad is to rely on the only reliable Source of light to interpret all circumstances in order to discern things from heaven's perspective.

The only way I can avoid stumbling and offense is to keep the Light of the world ever-present within my own heart. I need to make sure Jesus has a safe sanctuary within my soul from which He can illuminate circumstances from heaven's perspective as well as demonstrate His glory through my life. By having Jesus' perspective on circumstances and being filled with hope rather than lurching from one crisis to another in fear or despair or self-depenence, my life can become an example of the peace that everyone needs to experience in their hearts. As others perceive the peace and joy that I can enjoy in the face of any and every circumstance they will want to know how to have that kind of light dwelling in them too. In this way God will be able to use my witness in His favor and my life can become a magnet to attract others to also live in the light and become free from their fears and darkness.